PORTLAND, Ore. – Protests outside Portland’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building earlier this week drew both demonstrators and federal officers into tense standoffs. But according to one reporter on the ground, the situation may not match the image being portrayed nationally.
On-the-Ground Perspective
Luke Duecy, a reporter for KIRO Newsradio, observed the demonstrations firsthand and shared his impressions on The Gee and Ursula Show Wednesday.
“Has there been violence there? Yes, absolutely,” Duecy acknowledged. “Federal agents and officers firing rubber bullets and pepper spray at times, protesters throwing rocks and other objects, and spray-painted threats on the side of the ICE facility. I saw one message that read, ‘Molotovs melt ICE.’ That’s scary stuff, and that’s very serious. However, I didn’t see any Portland that was being ravaged like maybe the Trump administration is portraying.”
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Duecy’s comments come amid heightened political debate over President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops to Portland, a move state leaders have criticized as unnecessary and inflammatory.
A Smaller, Mixed Crowd
According to Duecy, the protests were far smaller than some national coverage suggested.
“Yesterday morning, there were only one, and then two, who would trade off yelling at Homeland Security officers and ICE agents,” he explained.
By late morning, he said, the crowd included older residents, “retirees with homemade signs,” standing peacefully on the sidewalk and waving to passing cars for honks of support.
At night and on weekends, however, Duecy noted the protests grew more aggressive as a different group of demonstrators arrived—those dressed in all black and wearing masks, resembling agitators seen in Seattle during past protests.
Tensions Go Both Ways
Duecy emphasized that while some protesters escalated confrontations, federal officers also contributed to tensions.
“It’s during the nights and weekends when the other agitators move in and they start to become a little more aggressive,” he said. “But I’d also stress, both sides were antagonizing each other.”
He cautioned listeners against assuming the situation was one-sided, describing the clashes as complex and often misrepresented.
Media Narratives Under Scrutiny
A recurring theme in Duecy’s reporting was the difference between his firsthand experience and the way the protests were being framed in national headlines and social media clips.
“It’s not exactly what you see, though, I would stress, in the media,” he told listeners.
Videos circulated online, he said, often highlighted the most extreme moments without showing the calmer daytime protests, where only a handful of participants stood outside the ICE facility peacefully.
Context of Federal Deployment
The protests come in response to Trump’s decision to federalize 200 members of the Oregon National Guard and send them to Portland. The administration has described the city as a center of “lawless mayhem,” a characterization strongly disputed by Oregon officials and Portland leaders.
While incidents of vandalism and clashes with officers have been documented, local authorities maintain the protests are generally small and manageable.
A More Nuanced Reality
Duecy’s reporting suggests a more nuanced reality: one where peaceful demonstrators and retirees stand alongside masked agitators, and where both protesters and federal officers play a role in ratcheting up tensions.
While acknowledging the seriousness of violent incidents, he rejected the notion that Portland is collapsing under siege.
“There’s scary stuff out there, yes,” Duecy said. “But the Portland I saw isn’t the one being described on the national stage.”
