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One dead: Caravan of armed Trump supporters descends on Black Lives Matters protest

Their pickups draped with the US flag, Donald Trump's supporters barrel through the BLM crowd.

Their pickups draped with the US flag, Donald Trump's supporters barrel through the BLM crowd. Photo: Twitter/Cody Johnson

At least one person is reported dead after a massive convoy of gun-toting supporters of President Donald Trump goaded Black Lives Matters protesters by driving through the city of Portland, clashing with counter-protesters.

Oregon’s largest city has been the site of nightly protests for three months since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Police made several arrests on Saturday night but have neither confirmed the fatal shooting was related to the Trump convoy nor released full details of the incident, which claimed the life of an unidentified teen.

Three others were wounded when the shots rang out, according to local TV station KPTV, with one of the victims described by an eyewitness as “just a little girl”.

“We heard screaming and the girl said ‘can you help?'” a woman who declined to give her name told reporters.

“I hopped out the car and ran up to the girl and saw blood everywhere and started applying pressure as I’m calling 911,” she said, adding that she used a belt as a tourniquet to help stem one of the victim’s the bleeding.

“The little girl she kept asking me am I gonna die? I told her ‘No, baby, you’re not gonna die. You’re gonna make it.”

The pro-Trump caravan of about 600 vehicles headed for downtown after a late-afternoon rally at the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall. Many of the rally-goers waved Trump flags.

“This rally is not a protest,” Alex Kyzik, an organiser, told the crowd, according to the Oregonian/Oregonlive.com.

“This rally is a celebration of a great president.”

The caravan was greeted downtown by Black Lives Matter protesters who had gathered for their own rally.

Video showed sporadic fighting, as well as Trump supporters firing paintball pellets at opponents while counter-protesters pitched bottles and rocks at the Trump caravan.

“There have been some instances of violence between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators,” Portland Police said via Twitter. “Officers have intervened and in some cases made arrests.”

Saturday’s rally was the third consecutive weekend that pro-Trump demonstrators converged in and around Portland, leading to clashes with counter-protesters.

-with AAP

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