Oregon Video Claiming To Show Far Right Groups Clashing Sparks Fed Theory

An aggressive dispute caught on camera—ostensibly between two far-right groups who had gathered to disrupt a Pride event in Oregon—has sparked a wave of theories about who was involved and why.

Footage of the scuffle in Oregon City went viral after it was shared widely across social media over the weekend and, somewhat unusually, it was shared across the political spectrum of online commentators—because they all claimed it showed something different. While those on the left claimed the incident showed a fight between two homophobic groups who had gathered with the same aim of protesting against LGBTQ+ rights, others said that there may have been more going on than it initially appeared.

Some observers incorrectly claimed that one of the groups was not a far-right organization at all but suggested it was made up of masked federal agents who were there in disguise to police the event. They mocked the so-called feds for allegedly playing hardened men while they were being forced to retreat.

The FBI told Newsweek that such claims are "absolutely false" and that the agency did not have undercover agents at the event.

The incident comes amid an increasingly bitter culture war about the rights of gay and transgender people in the U.S. Companies and brands who have advocated for the LGBTQ+ community in recent weeks have been hit by pushback, such as beer brand Bud Light which was engulfed in a social media firestorm due to a promotion it ran with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, while drag storytime events aimed at children have also been targeted by demonstrations.

Video of the Oregon incident showed two groups of men. One group, mostly wearing T-shirts and baseball caps and brandishing the American flag, faced off against another group of men clad in black, whose faces were completely covered in black masks and sunglasses. The masked men were pushed back along the street by the first group, who shouted obscenities. A scuffle then broke out and punches were thrown as the first group began ripping off the masks of their rivals, who covered their faces with their hands.

The protest was said to have been organized in opposition to the Oregon City Pride events taking place at 7th Street. A flyer for the event promised that "special guests" would be featured at various fun events during the day and into the evening to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.

An Oregon City Police Department spokesperson told Newsweek the footage was filmed on Saturday afternoon and its officers arrived at the scene at around 4:08 p.m. at the junction between 15th and Washington Street.

"During the disturbance we arrested two people, 41-year-old Benjamin Kesler and 52-year-old Debra Lumb, both for disorderly conduct II," the spokesperson wrote in an email.

"By the time we arrived the disturbance was in the process of dispersing and had been part of a much larger disturbance. This disturbance was near where a group had set up and was waving flags by the Willamette Falls Education Center. Besides this disturbance, we didn't respond to any other reports of physical disturbances. There were no arrests made at the Pride event locations on 7th St. or major disruptions to the event that we are aware of."

Twitter user Jon Cooper, a gay dad-of-five and majority leader of the Suffolk County Legislature in New York, shared the footage with his 1.2 million followers. Striking what appeared to be an amused tone, he captioned the clip: "Who else enjoys watching Proud Boys and Patriot Front members fighting each other?"

His video was viewed by more than 1.3 million people and shared thousands of times on Twitter.

Others tweeted that they found the sight of "racists fighting racists" funny, considering they were supposed to be on the same side at the protest.

Patriot Front is a white supremacist movement, while Proud Boys are also white supremacists who were designated a terrorist organization by some countries, including Canada, following the group's role in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol in 2021.

But other users falsely alleged that the group said to be Patriot Front were in fact, undercover federal agents. One Twitter user wrote: "This is the BEST video on the internet right now.—Pro-America Patriot rally ongoing—Feds show up dressed as 'Nazis'—Patriots force Feds out of rally—Unmask the Feds, who PANIC—The 'Nazis' cry, tremble in fear—Cops rush to save Feds."

Kieran L. Ramsey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Portland Division, told Newsweek in an email: "We are appalled by recent online allegations that the FBI had personnel posing as protestors in Oregon City, OR, this weekend. Any such claims are absolutely false."

The false allegations by some social media users that undercover FBI agents were working Oregon City come just weeks after Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene alleged on Twitter that Patriot Front "looks like a fed operation trying to create racism, white supremacy, and racial division where none exist," adding: "Take your masks off you cowards."

Newsweek has been unable to independently verify which other groups took part in the Oregon altercation and has been unable to contact Proud Boys or Patriot Front.

Update 6/27/23 7:45 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include additional information from the FBI and a comment from Special Agent Kieran L. Ramsey.