Dueling narratives on Portland protests head to court in National Guard case

Conrad Wilson/OPB

Troy Brynelson/OPB

October 03, 2025 / 12:57 pm

Images and videos of protests on the streets of Portland have filled social media feeds and cable news broadcasts. There have predominantly been two dueling narratives: peaceful demonstrations versus riots.

Now Oregon officials and the Trump administration are poised to portray similarly dueling views in the austere halls of the city’s federal courthouse on Friday.

The state’s governor, attorney general and Portland’s mayor believe the administration has overstepped. They’ve filed a lawsuit and a restraining order to immediately block Trump from deploying 200 federalized members of the Oregon National Guard.

Trump, meanwhile, called Portland

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