Portland streets flooded with nearly naked cyclists protesting ICE Facility and National Guard deployment by Donald Trump

Over a thousand cyclists, some partially or fully unclothed, took to the rainy streets of Portland to protest President Donald Trump’s plans to deploy National Guard troops to the city. Organized by the World Naked Bike Ride collective, the demonstration sought to draw attention to the city’s militarization and the continuing impact on immigrant and Indigenous communities.

At the same time, several hundred additional protesters walked from Elizabeth Caruthers Park in the South Waterfront area to the nearby US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.

Protesters marched toward the facility, chanting “Whose streets? Our streets!” while carrying a large banner that read “Abolish ICE.,” accompanied by a marching band clad in banana costumes.


“I think it’s critically important to include joy, and that’s why we’re here,” said Miles Thompson, a 43-year-old electrical engineer who conducts and plays trumpet with the Unpresidential Brass Band, according to the OregonLive website. “We’re winning this narrative battle. We’re here to show we’re not terrorists.”

According to a joint Instagram post, organizers of the World Naked Bike Ride arranged an “emergency” ride on Sunday to draw attention to “the militarization of Portland and the ongoing harm being inflicted on immigrant and Indigenous communities.” Riders gathered outside the Oregon Convention Center under gray skies and in just 53-degree weather.

Some riders braved the rain fully exposed, while others wore clear ponchos over their underwear. One rider carried a sign that read, “We’re cold, but not as cold as ICE.”

As the cyclists arrived at the ICE facility, onlookers cheered their arrival. The riders paraded before federal officers positioned on the roof. Later that day, federal agents fired pepper balls into the crowd and detained two individuals.