Man walks around Portland brandishing rifle at people in viral video

Video of a man walking around Portland while holding an assault rifle has gone viral on social media. The incident reportedly took place on Saturday as antifa and far-right groups clashed in the city.

Several clips of the man walking around while pointing the weapon at people were shared on social media. A photo of him  aiming his gun at a journalist has also gone viral.

The man reportedly walked around the Oregon city of close for 20 minutes before surrendering himself to police at the Justice Centre. Another footage showed the man walking towards the police while keeping his hands on his head. She is then stopped by the officers and searched. It remained unclear if the man was taken into custody after he surrendered himself.

Also read: Nazis, LGBT and Antifa: When Pastor Artur Pawlowski was part of controversies

Meanwhile, journalist Sergio Olmos, who was one of the users who shared the video on Twitter, wrote that a police officer told a journalist that the man called them and said that he was being followed by a crowd.

“I asked if police told the man to walk to justice center, the police officer nodded in the affirmative,” Olmos wrote.

The incident has resulted in wide spread condemnation. 

Zakir Khan, board chair of Oregon’s Council on American-Islamic Relations, tweeted, “Portland Police will storm a homeless camp with AR-15’s drawn if there is chatter about a pellet gun, but if a Proud Boy aims an assault rifle at pedestrians and the press in the middle of downtown Portland they won’t even respond.”

Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, wrote, “Oregon laws allow the open carry of loaded long guns without a permit, which empowers these armed extremists to threaten and intimidate anyone who disagrees with their ideology.”

American right-wing group Proud Boys and Antifa, a left-wing community clashed at a demonstration in Portland on Saturday. The face-off between the groups happened at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park, which was hosting a religious gathering being organised by Pastor Artur Pawlowski.