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  • Don't Shoot Portland

Don't Shoot Portland activists have organized a protest for this Friday as a way to show solidarity against "increased violence and threats" toward the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

"The protest on Friday will be in solidarity with protestors across the country fighting against police violence," Teressa Raiford, an organizer with Don't Shoot Portland, wrote in an email to the Mercury. "Students and activists will be speaking out against the 'recent' racism on local campuses, including the arming of officers on [the Portland State University campus.]"

As shown in the flier above, the protest will take place at 1 pm on Friday, Nov. 27 in Holladay Park, located at NE Multnomah and NE 11th.

On Wednesday, after hearing about the protest, Portland police Officer Jon Hurlman allegedly tweeted that he'd be "stuck late at work again to babysit these fools." Hurlman's boss yanked him from working the upcoming event and stuck him on desk duty.

The Friday protest is also in response to what's happening in Chicago right now, where hundreds demonstrated overnight after officials released the police dash camera footage showing a Chicago police officer fatally shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. The Friday Portland protest is also in response to the mess going on in Minneapolis, where, on Tuesday, three men were arrested for shooting five people near another protest in response to McDonald's killing.

"With the heightened violence and surveillance against activism we are asking that everyone stay focused on our mission of change," Raiford wrote. "We can't let the violence distract us from the necessity of being engaged politically."