"It's more than well organized - it's like a machine"

The men, wearing shirts, look around and then open the back seat sliding door closest to the sidewalk. Two other black-clad and masked people, a man and a woman, walk forward. Shirt man number one lifts a wooden shield out of the car and gives it to the woman, who walks two steps and passes it on to the black-clad man who puts down the shield leaning against a facade. Shirtman number two shoots out a new shield that goes in turn between the people before it is tilted against the wall. And one more. And one more. After about 30 seconds, a dozen shields are leaning against the wall. Then the car disappears as fast as it came. 

Among those demonstrating in Portland are people from diverse backgrounds, including from left-wing extremist organizations such as Antifa. A man from a state other than Oregon calls himself a professional activist. A woman is there to demonstrate against President Trump's policies. The vast majority are there because they have a sibling, parent, child or friend who has been subjected to the systematic racism that the majority of Americans say exists in society, or because they want to do something about it. And more and more people are there because they want to remove the federal police from the area. 

But despite the motley crowd of people, the protests in Portland are extremely well organized. After 60 days of daily protests without interruption, it is more than well organized, it is like a machine. 

After 9 p.m., a number of groups, including the "Wall of Mothers," march from the fountain on nearby Salmon Street to the park in front of the federal court. There they form a wall along the metal fence. When they have done so, the more hardline protesters close behind - or sometimes in front of - them with their shields. Further back, masked people are shooting fireworks or throwing things at the police on the other side of the fence from 23 or 23:30. 

The creativity of the protesters knows almost no bounds. Police tear gas is blown away by a group calling themselves dads with leaf blowers. Shields and insulation are clamped or fastened with cable ties to the fence to stop the police's rubber bullets and reduce their field of vision. A metal saw the other day reached the fence in protection of shields to try to saw the broken metal barrier, and a young man shot with a slingshot against the window of the courthouse.

The federal police respond with tear gas and rubber bullets. Protesters are dispersed and will soon return, almost all now wearing gas masks. 

But nothing really leads anyone anywhere. A police officer gets a bottle in the head but scratches himself, a protester is hit by something and taken away bloody but replaced by someone new. And so the same show tomorrow. It's like a match series in a hockey playoffs. The SHL playoffs where the team played 60 games and no one seems to know how to really win. 

At the same time, there are reports that the Department of Homeland Security has changed its analysis of who is responsible for the violence in Portland, from "violent opportunists" to "violent Antifa-inspired anarchists." This means that the protesters who act peacefully in Portland risk being bundled together with those who use force.