Portland, in the northwest of the United States, was once again the scene of clashes between anti-racist protesters and supporters of Donald Trump on Saturday, August 29. One person was shot dead under confusing circumstances.

This Oregon city has been the site of daily protests against police violence in the United States since the death of George Floyd, a black forty-something who suffocated under the knee of a white police officer, last May. The movement has been revived since Jacob Blake, another African American, was seriously injured on August 23 by police gunfire in Kenosha, Wisconsin. 

Several hundred cars driven by supporters of the US president, with US flags and pro-Trump flags, converged in an organized line in Portland on Saturday, including downtown. There were protesters from the Black Lives Matter movement, which prompted exchanges of insults, altercations and paintball fire from at least one pro-Trump supporter, and tear gas canisters, according to images. amateurs. 

Arrests and fatal shootings

Local police reported "violence between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators" and said police "intervened" and "made arrests in some cases". 

The fatal shootings took place at around 8:45 p.m. local time in the city center, police said in a statement, adding that a homicide investigation was underway. 

Police "heard shots coming from the neighborhood [...] and found on the spot a victim shot in the chest", the statement said. 

It is not known under what circumstances this man was affected, and if his death was linked to the protests. According to photographs, the deceased man was wearing a "Patriot Prayer" cap, a local far-right group active against anti-racism protests, which have been taking place in Portland for three months. 

"Send the National Guard!" 

Donald Trump responded with dozens of tweets and retweets on Sunday morning, criticizing the action of the Democratic Mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, and his refusal to call the National Guard. And to denounce what he considers to be the laxity of towns run by the Democrats in the face of delinquency and violence, the police being a local responsibility in the country. 

"Our great National Guard could solve these problems in less than an hour," he said. 

In Portland, "they continue to refuse any form of government assistance to stop the acts of violence that have been taking place for nearly 90 days," added US Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf on the channel ABC.   

Donald Trump, who is playing for re-election on November 3, sent the same message of restoring order during his inaugural speech at the Republican convention. He will travel to Kenosha on Tuesday, where a 17-year-old is accused of having shot dead two people in the riots that followed the shooting at Jacob Blake.  

Incitement to violence 

For his part, the Democratic candidate for the White House, Joe Biden, accused Donald Trump of "encouraging violence". 

"Maybe he believes tweeting about law and order makes him strong," the former vice president said in a statement, "but his inability to call on his supporters to stop seeking conflict is indicative of his weakness ". 

Her campaign team said Sunday evening that the Democratic candidate would deliver a speech Monday to ask voters a question she believes is crucial as the polls approach: "Are you safe in Donald Trump's America?" .

The mayor of Portland sent an open letter to Donald Trump on Friday denouncing his "policy of division and demagoguery". "We know you've come to the conclusion that images of violence and vandalism are your only passport to re-election," Wheeler wrote.  

The president "sees violence, and its ability to worsen it even more as an asset for his campaign," said Democratic parliamentarian Adam Schiff Sunday on CNN. 

With AFP 

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