On August 4th, during a major gun rights demonstration in Portland, OR, a right-wing group with a stockpile of weapons was stationed on the rooftop of a garage, overlooking the rally. The individuals, whose arsenal included long guns, were affiliated with the far right group Patriot Prayer.

The Portland police discovered the armed group and took their weapons, but did not arrest them. They later gave the guns back to the group.

The officers withheld this information from everyone outside the police department, including the mayor. It was only on Monday, over two months later, that this news finally came out.

According to The Oregonian:

That shocking revelation came Monday as Portland officials scrambled to find a way to end the repeated violent clashes between dueling political factions downtown...

Asked why the public was not told of the incident sooner, Chief Danielle Outlaw said, "Hindsight is always perfect." Outlaw said the Police Bureau warns the public that protesters may be armed. Both right- and left-wing demonstrators have come to Portland protests armed, she said.

Image: by U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Thomas Karol/Public Domain Read the rest

Evan Vucci's incredible photo from last night's Trump rally in Evansville, Indiana, shows the moment one of his volunteers "blocks the lens of a photographer trying to take a photo of a demonstrator."

Evan is the AP's chief photographer in Washington, and you can follow him at @evanvucci. Here's the Instagram embed:

View this post on Instagram

A volunteer member of the advance team for #president #donaldtrump blocks the lens of a photographer trying to take a photo of a demonstrator during a #campaign rally in #evansville #indiana

A post shared by Evan Vucci (@evanvucci) on Aug 30, 2018 at 6:02pm PDT

A 69-year-old woman was cold-cocked outside a Trump event by one of the Republican millionaire's supporters, reports ABC News—an attack so deplorable that cops plan to charge one of his violent rallygoers with a crime. Read the rest

Video reveals that a black protestor was sucker-punched by a man at a recent Donald Trump rally in Kentucky— and that the police then tackled the protestor, not the attacker.

Posted by the Washington Post, the footage shows several people leaving the rally after being identified as protestors. A ponytailed man approaches and punches one of them in the face. The victim stumbles onwards and is brought to the ground by uniformed guards identified by the Post as law enforcement.

“Chill, chill!” an onlooker says. “You don’t gotta grab him like that!”

Rakeem Jones, the man who was hit, said the punch came out of nowhere.

“Boom, he caught me,” Jones told The Washington Post in a telephone interview. “After I get it, before I could even gain my thoughts, I’m on the ground getting escorted out. Now I’m waking up this morning looking at the news and seeing me getting hit again.”… Jones blamed the Cumberland County officers escorting him from the rally for failing to protect him — then detaining him instead of the man who attacked him.

“It’s happening at all these rallies now and they’re letting it ride,” Jones said. “The police jumped on me like I was the one swinging.”

This isn't the first incident like this. If you choose to go to a Trump rally, be realistic about the risks.

1. Shouting anti-Trump slogans, working as media, or being with a protest group is enough to be identified as the enemy.

2. You might get assaulted, and Trump might encourage it. Read the rest