Video Shows Man Walking Around Pointing Assault Rifle at People in Portland

Videos have emerged showing a man walking around Portland pointing an assault rifle at people as antifa and far-right groups clashed in the Oregon city.

Footage of the man in full tactical gear walking around Portland unopposed as he aimed his gun at people, including members of the press, were shared online Sunday night.

The armed man, reported to be a member of the far-right Proud Boys group by journalists at the scene, walked around Portland for about 20 minutes before handing himself into police at the Justice Center.

According to reporter Sergio Olmos, one of those who posted videos of the disorder from Sunday onto Twitter, the man with the assault rifle had called police to state that a crowd was following him.

"I asked if police told the man to walk to the justice center, the police officer nodded in the affirmative," Olmos tweeted.

Further footage and images showed the man with his hands on his head walking towards police before being stopped and searched.

It is unclear if the man was arrested after handing himself into police. Oregon is an "open carry" state, meaning it is legal for most people to carry firearms openly without a permit.

Condemning the footage, 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, which was set up in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre, added: "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."

Portland Police have been contacted for comment.

The incident occurred amid continuing clashes over the appearance of a controversial Canadian pastor in Portland on Saturday.

The church service held the Battleship Oregon Memorial off Southwest Naito Parkway Saturday was led by Artur Pawlowski, who has previously been arrested for violating COVID-19 restrictions by hosting ceremonies with no social distancing and ignoring mask mandates.

The event was protested by left-wing groups, with the Proud Boys providing security for Pawlowski's service, according to the Portland Tribune.

After the 90-minute service concluded, Proud Boys and antifa demonstrators fired paintballs and deployed pepper spray on each other as fighting between the two groups broke out yet again in Portland.

On Sunday, demonstrators on both sides gathered at the parkway as another event was taking place, which eventually led to both sides clashing again.

Portland Police were also accused of failing to intervene and stop the clashes on Saturday.

"Antifa had threatened to beat people up and do what they do—and then they showed up and did it," a right-wing demonstrator told the Portland Tribune.

"The police were not even far from there and they were laughing in their vehicles and doing their thing. It's probably hard to care as an officer in a place where they take away all your funding."

Portland police said that fighting did break out between the two groups but was "over prior to any police response," PPB's Derek Carmon told KOIN 6 News.

"As the groups left, there was a report of another small fight that was over prior to police response. No arrests were made and no one came forward to report any crimes that we are aware of. Police had no interaction with either group today," Carmon added.