This footage was filmed and produced 22 July 2020.
The mayor of Portland, Oregon, was tear gassed by the U.S. government late Wednesday as he stood at a fence guarding a federal courthouse during another night of protest against the presence of federal agents sent by President Donald Trump to quell unrest in the city.
Mayor Ted Wheeler said it was the first time he’d been tear gassed and appeared slightly dazed and coughed as he put on a pair of goggles someone handed him and drank water. He didn’t leave his spot at the front, however, and continued to take gas. Around Wheeler, the protest raged, with demonstrators lighting a large fire in the space between the fence and the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse and the pop-pop-pop of federal agents deploying tear gas and stun grenades into the crowd.
"That was the night our mayor Ted Wheeler (we call him Teargas Ted) came to the protest to speak, but no one wanted to listen because it was only for publicity. He's had two months to support us, and all he did was teargas us. He wound up tasting his own teargas that night. The crowd was shouting him down when he tried to speak. "Quit your job!" is the chant, and you may also hear some dog squeaky toys someone was passing out to people that night", said Brandon Bates, author of the videos.