Portland police officers arrested three, citing a Vancouver man for disorderly conduct, after competing rallies at Tom McCall Waterfront Park dissolved into a melee between right- and left-wing protesters Sunday afternoon.
Officers cited and released Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, 21, on a charge of second-degree disorderly conduct.
The Portland Police Bureau said he was given a criminal citation then released instead of being booked into the Multnomah County Jail because an injury he sustained at the clash required medical treatment at a hospital.
The March for Freedom, Solidarity and Justice march, organized through Joey Gibson, a conservative political activist from Vancouver, drew members of the so-called “alt-right” and white nationalists, among others. In turn, a group that included far left and anti-fascist counter-protesters responded.
Toese is a regular presence at events organized through Patriot Prayer, Gibson’s informal political group, and he has been at the center of the more physical altercations seen at the rallies and counter-protests over the last few months.
