Oregon lawmakers will do most of their work online during the initial weeks of the regular five-month legislative session that begins Jan. 19 in an effort to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks at the Capitol.
One arrested at Oregon Capitol, but building was not breached
Competing groups clashed Wednesday in Salem as a months-long lockdown was tightened.
Pro-Trump protesters at the Capitol in Salem echoed their national counterparts Wednesday, but unlike them, the Oregon protesters did not breach the building.
Oregon State Police reported that a fight broke out Wednesday afternoon between them and counter-protesters who arrived later. State troopers, Marion County sheriff s deputies and Salem Police were on the scene. Law enforcement members quickly separated the two groups and worked to keep the two groups separate for the remainder of the day, OSP Capt. Timothy Fox said in a statement.
In the season of peace, in the city of peace, last week the Oregon State Capitol was awash in both amity and animosity.
The local tourism agency, Travel Salem, promotes the region as âThe most Oregon part of Oregon.â That held true during the one-day special legislative session on Dec. 21. The dysfunction and violence that have bedeviled Portland for months, gaining national notoriety and splitting the state, moved south to Salem, where most of Oregonâs 90 legislators had gathered to approve coronavirus and wildfire relief legislation.
There is irony that Salem, our state capital and where I live, is named for peace. Maybe it is a sign of the times that the city Peace Plaza, which connects city hall with the city library, is closed because the library is being renovated.
Oregon senator rips off mask, tears into Democratic leadership over coronavirus protections
Updated Dec 22, 2020;
Posted Dec 22, 2020
Oregon Sen. Dallas Heard of Roseburg rips off his face mask to protest coronavirus precautions at the state Capitol during a special session on Monday.
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Oregon Sen. Dallas Heard ripped off his mask during the opening hours of the Legislature’s third special session this year, protesting Democratic leaders requiring face coverings and closing the Capitol to the public as a coronavirus precaution.
Calling the daylong meeting an “illegitimate session,” the Republican lawmaker from Roseburg said he would have worn the mask if asked, “but you commanded it, and therefore I declare my right to protest against your false authority.”
Oregon Legislature: Special session covers COVID-19 relief as protestors try to wrest open doors Claire Withycombe, Salem Statesman Journal
VIDEO: Arrests made following protests at Oregon State Capitol
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As protestors and police clashed outside, lawmakers met in a special session Monday to pass measures to deal with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s the third time lawmakers have met for an emergency session in what has been an extraordinary year, marked by the pandemic, widespread protests and blistering wildfires.
Here’s what lawmakers did on Monday:
Extended a statewide ban on evicting renters until the end of June