World Naked Bike Ride protests possible Guard deployment in Portland

Hundreds of cyclists staged an emergency edition of Portland’s World Naked Bike Ride on Sunday to protest the possible deployment of National Guard troops and to call attention to what organizers described as harm to immigrant and Indigenous communities. Riders gathered at the Oregon Convention Center Plaza in the afternoon, set off around 3 p.m., and wound through rain-slick streets to the Burnside Bridge and on to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the South Waterfront neighborhood.

Organizers said the clothing optional ride was intended to spotlight the perceived militarization of the city as federal authorities weigh deploying Guard troops to support protection of federal facilities. Participants included those fully unclothed, others in partial costume or protective ponchos, and a marching band. Demonstrators staged a die-in on the Burnside Bridge and paraded in front of federal officers positioned on the roof of the ICE building. Organizers posted on social media that joy and mutual respect were forms of protest and that the choice of how much to wear was up to each participant. One rider, Janene King, told reporters she opposed troops entering the city.