The city of Salem, Oregon charged Discrepancy Report nearly $500 for a public records request seeking communications records between city employees and organizers of a controversial pro-Second Amendment rally held at Riverfront Park on May 1.
The city denied a request to waive the fee saying it would “cause an undue burden on the city because the time, expense and the interference with the business of the city to compile and provide the records is substantial and outweighs the benefit to the public.”
Critics including activists and journalists have raised questions about whether the city gave preferential treatment to organizers of the rally by changing policies just before it was scheduled, not having a large, visible police presence, and allegedly allowing armed members of the far-right group the Proud Boys to remove people from the park and assault them.
City leaders have denied the accusations and said officers were present at the “May Day 2A Rally.”
No charges have been filed, but multiple citizens and journalists reported being escorted from the event (on video in at least one case), threatened, and pushed by security, which was composed of members of the Proud Boys openly carrying pistols.
Police said the rally drew 150 to 200 people. No permit was filed and the event was held at a city park that’s open to the public.
“At this point, no arrests have been made,” Lieutenant Treven Upkes, a spokesman for the Salem Police Department, told Discrepancy Report Monday. “I believe we are still currently investigating one incident. Up to this point, all of the other involved people declined to be victims. The vlogger in the video has not contacted us and without us speaking to him I cannot speculate on the incident.”
A page on the city’s website entitled “Reserve a City Facility or Park” changed notably just before the May 1 rally. As of April 30, it said, “Due to COVID-19, parks and other facilities are not available for reservation. Reservations are being accepted for outdoor events in parks occurring May 31, 2021 or after.”
But on April 28, according to a screen capture from the Internet Archive, the page said, “Due to COVID-19, parks and other city facilities are not available for reservation through April 30, 2021. Reservations are being accepted for outdoor events in parks occurring May 1, 2021 or after.”
Trevor Smith, a city spokesman, suggested the change to the website was due to an error.
“It was my understanding that the city was not accepting or approving applications until May 31st and when we were made aware of the information on our website, we moved to correct it immediately,” he told Discrepancy Report.
The application process for reserving part of Riverfront Park requires applicants to outline plans for security, which apparently was not done since applications were not required as noted by the change to the city website the day before the event.
Neither Smith nor Upkes would name organizers of the rally who communicated with city employees.
Magen Marie Stevens, a supporter of the Proud Boys and other far-right groups, was described as an organizer of the event by The Statesman Journal and KOIN-TV. She discussed planning the rally in an interview with the hosts of KSLM’s “Good Morning Salem” radio show on April 20.
In March, Stevens was convicted of second-degree use of mace/tear gas, a misdemeanor, stemming from an incident during a Labor Day demonstration on the grounds of the state Capitol. Stevens was fined $200 and put on bench probation for a year and a half with an order to obey all laws.
Discrepancy Report attempted to reach Stevens through associates but she did not immediately respond.
On May 3, Discrepancy Report editor Joe Douglass filed a public records request seeking “digital copies of all written communications (emails, text messages, faxes, other possible written communication) between city employees including members of the police department and organizers of the event described below regarding the event and its security.”
The city later sent Douglass an invoice requesting $479.63 for the records. Douglass noted a willingness to discuss ways to potentially narrow the request but the city denied two appeals to waive the fee.
On May 21, Douglass paid the fee thanks to a donation Warren J. Thompson of Salem made after reading this article. Discrepancy Report will publish a new story about the records request soon after the information is received. Follow the site on Facebook and/or Twitter for the latest developments.
The Canadian government has labeled the Proud Boys a “terrorist entity” and the Southern Poverty Law Center calls the organization a hate group. Members of the Proud Boys adamantly refute the labels.
Regarding the handling of the rally, an email from the Salem Police Department to the mayor and City Council earlier this month said in part:
The City was previously aware of this event being planned, however no organizer(s) requested a permit. Efforts to communicate with event organizers and public officials who were being promoted as event speakers were unsuccessful. SPD did eventually make contact with one person associated with the event to advise that police would be in the area monitoring and attendees must follow all laws.
The City is not issuing event permits due to COVID restrictions; the target date to begin issuing permits again is May 31. Parks remain open for public use on a first come basis and we cannot stop constitutionally protected activities, such as assembly and speech. No event has a prior right to the park – meaning there is no reservation in place for any event. The City did not provide any services like power, portable toilets, potable water, or other support to the event. The City did not approve/authorize any “private security” force for this event.
Chief Womack’s message to the community regarding Saturday’s event (attached) restated the Police Department’s approach to protests and rallies. The City’s approach has remained consistent. Regardless of anyone’s political affiliation or ideology, we make enforcement decisions based upon the neutral interests of public safety – balancing the sometimes competing interests of constitutional rights and public safety. Our top priority is to prevent or stop acts of violence and property damage. There were no reported significant acts of violence or property damage on Saturday. One possible harassment (pushing) resulting in a small scratch to the hand was reported and SPD immediately responded, spoke with the victim, and is now investigating.
Approximately 150-200 people attended the rally, including families with children. There was a stage set up for public speaking and numerous pop-up shades where food and items were being shared. Perhaps 30 were dressed in “Proud Boy” attire. Some in the crowd, including folks wearing Proud Boy attire and others, were seen lawfully openly carrying pistols. No rifles were seen being carried, however there may have been rifles in vehicles. There were no individual counter-protesting, which is important to note because preventing opposing groups from confronting one another is a decision point for a more substantial law enforcement deployment.
SPD officers were actively monitoring and present throughout the entire rally. Some officers were highly visible and some less visible. Over 30 additional personnel were on duty (overtime) for this event in case a large police response was needed. Officers were deployed visibly on bikes and in patrol cars in the area surrounding the park. SPD actively checked for drinking in the park and observed no violations. Dispatch received only two legitimate calls for service at the park during the event and SPD immediately responded to each. Dispatch also received two separate false reports, one claiming that a group of intoxicated men were terrorizing people near the carousel and one claiming men described as “proud boys” with clubs, chains, and knives were attacking people in the middle of the park. Both allegations were false, as officers were in these areas at the time and observed no such activity. A police sergeant contacted a likely event organizer in the park and advised that SPD would immediately intervene and shut the event down if any assaults occurred. Bicycle officers continued to ride through the park to ensure safety.
We are learning through social media commentary after-the-fact that two to three individuals may have been escorted out of the park by Proud Boys or their affiliates. One of those forced out was actually dressed in Proud Boy attire himself. SPD is now trying to follow up with anyone who was possibly threatened or a victim of a crime during this rally. We are encouraging anyone to please contact SPD to report what occurred and we will investigate all reports. Chief Womack is attempting to contact one possible victim himself, but has yet to receive a reply. Officers also spoke with a student reporter toward the end of the event who reported she and her friend had been escorted out of the park earlier in the day. That incident was documented upon her reporting it to the officers.
As with all events/protests, SPD will now examine and learn from what occurred Saturday and apply new knowledge to future event planning and management.
