ICE Beat Wants a Gun
A group of about four dozen protesters gathered at City Hall on Wednesday, February 18, ahead of the 6pm City Council meeting. Portland Contra las Deportaciones (PDXCD) organized the demonstration to demand the City Council revoke the land use permit for the Macadam Avenue ICE Facility. PDXCD has organized several other disruptions of City Council meetings, including one on January 21, that ended with Portland Police removing the group from the Council chambers.
Organizers with PDXCD led the group through a series of chants beginning around 5pm. Shortly after, Tommy Allen, a popular right-wing livestreamer, arrived at the scene along with one other counter-protestor. Allen often attends anti-ICE protests in Portland with a megaphone containing prerecorded messages including “I love Trump,” “deport the illegals,” and “abort anchor babies.” During a confrontation between the protesters and counter-protesters, Allen sprayed one of the demonstrator’s eyes with a chemical irritant. Maya Gutierrez ’27, who was walking by when she saw the crowd, said she witnessed Allen using the chemical spray on protesters four separate times. Those affected by the spray were given medical attention by members of the group as the demonstration continued and a small number of guards watched from windows of the Council Chambers on the second floor.
Shortly before 6pm, City Hall security guards began letting news crews and protesters into the building through the security checkpoint one by one. One activist with PDXCD, Cole Donahugh, was denied entry due to a previous count of trespassing according to the security guards. The line to pass the security checkpoint moved slowly, and most of the attendees remained outside when the meeting began. Allen, who used the chemical irritant again on a protester while the group was waiting to go through the checkpoint, was allowed to enter the building.
Three members of PDXCD, Isabella Shepard, Elijah Thahir, and Beatriz Ibarra, gave testimony to the council demanding they act more aggressively to remove DHS from the Macadam facility. Two other members of the public made comments in favor of a renters aid resolution on the City Council’s agenda for the meeting.
After the public testimony City Administrator Raymond Lee gave an update regarding the “status of the ongoing response to federal interventions in the city.” Lee discussed the land use violation issued to the owner of the ICE facility, Stuart Lindquist, as well as the Detention Center Impact Fee Ordinance approved by the City Council in December 2025. City staff are “moving with the urgency the moment demands while also ensuring our actions are well executed and legally defensible,” Lee told the meeting’s attendees. While Lee was speaking, several people in the crowd began yelling “revoke the permit.” Two protesters, including Susan Anglada Bartley, an activist who has collected over 19,000 signatures on a petition to revoke the ICE permit, squeezed past the public testimony bench and approached the dais where the council members were seated. Anglada Bartley held up her petition to the council members as security guards removed her back behind the testimony bench.
The meeting recessed at 6:25pm and council members and city staff were evacuated from the chamber. The group of protesters remained in the chamber for about half an hour until police officers arrived. According to a statement from the Portland Police Bureau, “most people left when contacted by police officers, but four people continued to refuse to leave and were arrested.” Among those arrested were Susan Anglada Bartley and Cole Donahugh.
Councilor Loretta Smith uploaded several photos and videos of the disruption on Facebook later that evening including photos and videos of security officers restraining Anglada Bartley. In the caption of the post, Councilor Smith claimed she does not “feel safe at council meetings” and likened the disruption to “a mini insurrection.” She later told Oregon Public Broadcasting that she was drafting an ordinance to allow City Councilors to openly carry firearms while conducting city business. The proposal was met with backlash from fellow council members including Councilors Sameer Kanal and Mitch Green. Smith later rescinded the proposal but released a statement denouncing violence in City Hall. “Just as protesters desire to feel safe in their communities, I, too, have a right to feel safe in my workplace and to go home at the end of the day,” the statement reads.
Councilor Smith’s office did not respond to the Quest’s request for comment.