Over the last four years, the people of Portland have witnessed a surge in far-right activity, motivated by the Trump presidency. Beginning with pro-Trump rallies in 2016 attended by members of far-right militias and white supremacist groups, this activity expanded into 2017, 2018, and 2019 as Joey Gibson attempted to make a media and political career through ringleading large gatherings of these violent agitators, buoying up groups like Identity Europa, the Proud Boys, and the Portland-area Daily Stormer group.
Gibson and company’s forays into Portland would not have been able to occur without the help of the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), the city of Portland, and the local court system. PPB’s collaboration with Joey Gibson and Patriot Prayer is well-documented. The City government has refused to respond to the revelation that Quincy Franklin and Gregory Isaacson, two bigoted followers of Patriot Prayer, are employed by the city. And the courts with jurisdiction over Portland have now fallen prey to influence by Patriot Prayer. In this article we will lay out the malign influence exerted by Joey Gibson’s associates at every stage of a court case. From the filing of charges, to the disruption of the trial, to an eventual mistrial due to the actions of a Patriot Prayer associate who was a member of the ostensibly “impartial” jury, this case now joins the spiraling list of occasions in which the far-right has hijacked the mechanisms of city government in order to harass its denizens, and the activists working to protect their community from fascist violence.