A 17-year-old participating in Thursday afternoon's student-led march and protest against President Donald Trump's education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos had a machete strapped to his backpack and a couple knives on his belt. His face was covered and he wore a hat, a baggy sweatshirt, and camouflage pants.
After the march ended, I learned from a police press release last night, that the Portland Police Bureau seized the blades for "safekeeping" (I've asked the PPB what "safekeeping" means in legal sense, and will update when more info comes in) and "issued him a 30-day park exclusion" after "an alert community member altered police" about him.
17-Year-Old Given Park Exclusion, Weapons Seized During Protest March (Photo) https://t.co/Yavt7Iw3BTpic.twitter.com/8hNJaQ9kwY
— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) January 20, 2017
I am not criticizing what the PPB did here, but just providing some more context because the response to the PPB's tweet about it left some people wondering:
@Timothy77215974@PortlandPolice why would someone need weapons at a peaceful protest?
— Mitchell (@ORtransitfan) January 20, 2017
I spoke to the kid midway through the march, well before police were involved, and casually asked him about the machete. He's said he's been homeless for the last five years and uses the machete to clear campsites and places to sleep. The two knives, he said, were for self-defense while living on the streets.
So, for context, he said he wasn't bringing the blades just because there was a protest, he said he has them because he's homeless.