Oregon lawmakers kick off third special session of 2020 as right-wing group protests outside

Oregon’s third special legislative session of the year got off to a contentious start Monday morning, with a Republican senator ripping off his mask on the chamber floor and a group of demonstrators forcing their way into the Capitol.

Gov. Kate Brown called lawmakers back to Salem days before Christmas to extend the state’s eviction moratorium, create a compensation fund for landlords and allocate more money for the state’s COVID-19 response and wildfire recovery work. Lawmakers are also considering proposals to shield schools from coronavirus lawsuits, allow restaurants and bars to sell to-go cocktails and cap the delivery fees they pay to third-party platforms.

Sen. Dallas Heard, R-Roseburg, did not object to any of the legislative proposals in his speech on the Senate floor as lawmakers held an initial roll call and adopted rules for the special session Monday morning. Instead, Heard focused on the requirement that lawmakers wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 under Oregon Occupational Safety & Health Administration rules enacted in November. Heard also objected to coronavirus restrictions that bar members of the public, with the exception of journalists, from entering the Capitol.

“This is yet another illegitimate session” due to those exclusions, Heard told Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem. Quoting from one of the Old Testament’s books of Samuel, Heard told Courtney “adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces” and suggested elected leaders lack authority. “This is (God’s) kingdom, not yours,” Heard said to Courtney.

After chastising Courtney for doing “such great evil to my people” and requiring rather than asking lawmakers to wear face coverings, Heard removed his mask. The Senate president did not respond and Heard left the chamber.

Meanwhile, several dozen demonstrators gathered outside the Capitol as part of a “nonpermitted flash mob” against COVID-19 restrictions. It was promoted by the Vancouver, Washington-based right-wing group Patriot Prayer, whose leader Joey Gibson attended the event.

Demonstrators clashed with law enforcement officers outside the building as the session got underway, according to reports from the scene. Law enforcement officers physically pushed demonstrators away from a doorway, and one officer appeared to deploy chemical spray. Freelance writer Laura Jedeed reported that police also fired pepper balls at one point.

The Oregon State Police issued a statement Monday afternoon saying troopers were twice sprayed with “some kind of chemical agent.”

The first incident happened about 8:30 a.m. when protesters accessed an entry room in the Capitol and one sprayed troopers, police said, though that person remains at large. Troopers used “inert pepper balls” while dealing with the protesters, police said.

Later, troopers and Salem Police Department officers pushed the crowd out of the building, when another protests used bear spray against law enforcement, OSP said in the news release. Police said Ryan Lyles, 41, was taken into custody and lodged at the Marion County Jail on charges of trespassing and assaulting a police officer.

The Oregon State Police declared an unlawful assembly but said they did not deploy any CS gas.

“The Oregon State Police encourage people to exercise their first amendment rights, but it must be lawfully,” the agency said in a statement. “Please, discontinue the acts of vandalism or destruction of property. If you commit a crime you will be subject to arrest.”

Troopers said later Monday morning that everyone had to leave the Capitol mall grounds and those who remained would be subject to arrest.

Tensions flared again in early afternoon, when protesters returned to the Capitol. Police said one person was arrested after attempting to enter the building by breaking a door window.

Observers at the scene reported seeing journalists assaulted during the protest.

Heard, the Senator from Roseburg, addressed the crowd earlier in the morning, saying he has problems with the special session and calling on demonstrators to vote out Democrats, according to the Salem Reporter.

A work session on the eviction moratorium and other bills scheduled for 9:30 a.m. was rescheduled to 10:15 a.m., although a spokesperson for House Speaker Tina Kotek said the change was unrelated to the protest.

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