Portland has seen three consecutive weekends of direct conflict between factions. On Aug. 15, one event organized by right-wing groups ended with an activist firing gunshots from a vehicle, according to
The situation in Portland on Saturday night was equally chaotic. Trump supporters drove through downtown while shooting paintballs from the backs of pickup trucks; protesters countered by throwing objects at the vehicles.
As the night wore on, video shows that the man who was fatally shot, Aaron J. Danielson, a Portland resident who supported the far-right group Patriot Prayer, was walking along a mostly empty road near the protests. In one video, a person yells, “We’ve got a couple right here.”
Justin Dunlap, a Portland resident who was livestreaming video from the scene, said in an interview that Mr. Danielson appeared to pull something from his hip, as if he were grabbing a gun. But he said it could also have been mace, and a cloud emerged in front of Mr. Danielson as two gunshots rang out. Authorities said he died of a single gunshot wound to the chest.
Mr. Dunlap said the trouble seemed to begin after the event on Aug. 22, when the authorities did not pursue charges against the man who had pointed a gun during the demonstration that day.
“That opened up the door for live weapons to be injected in the situation,” Mr. Dunlap said.
But James Buchal, a lawyer for a Patriot Prayer leader who is facing rioting charges from last year, said conservative groups and activists have ramped up their presence at the protests in response to what they see as the failure of the authorities to control the demonstrations that are disrupting the city.
“They are very upset with the refusal of Portland authorities to promote law and order,” said Mr. Buchal, who is also chairman of the Republican Party in Multnomah County, which includes Portland.
Mike Baker reported from Portland, Julie Bosman from Kenosha, Wis., and Richard A. Oppel Jr. from New York. Neil MacFarquhar contributed reporting from New York.