Honoring unhoused people that died, fighting fascism locally

Community honors unhoused people who died

Stop Death on the Streets held a candlelight vigil Friday night, paying respect to unhoused members of our community that lost their lives in 2020. Speakers expressed their sorrow, while also showing anger for the government’s violence towards unhoused people.

There were at least 100 people were in attendance at the event held on 1st and Washington, the site of a recent sweep done by the city. Interspersed between speakers was music. Organizers prioritized having representation of unhoused folks along with advocates in front of the audience.

Stop Death on the Streets counted 30 unhoused people that died in Lane County last year, but noted we will likely learn about more people.

Fascist take to streets of the city

After a successful intrusion into the country’s capitol and havoc caused in Salem, local Trump supporters felt more emboldened than ever in recent times in taking the streets at Wayne Morse Federal Building in Eugene.

The right brought out about 60 people, with half being Proud Boys members that marched en masse 30 minutes after the scheduled beginning of the event. The Proud Boys though only dropped in and left shortly after aiding in assaults of passing bystanders.

Fascist violence escalated from objects thrown to shoving to one of them, Richard Elce bludgeoning a counter-protestor with his flag pole. It was after that EPD arrived, arresting Elce, and in total three fascists were arrested. Cops also declared the event a riot and threatened to use tear gas if the mob did not clear the area. However the cops did not follow through with threat as the group moved to the steps of the Federal building and went on with speech and the police moved out.

Among the organizers of Saturday’s “Stand up against socialism” event are Rob Davis, Geena Shipman, and Brandon Lee Kitcher. Rob Davis, from Springfield, regularly disrupted Black Lives Matter events and assaulted marchers. Additionally Davis was arrested for disorderly conduct in his participation in a far right rally on New Years day in Salem. Geena Shipman is the partner of Rob Davis and was arrested last summer for assaulting a protestor. Brandon Lee Kitcher is a member of the Oregon National Guard.

For more reporting, including photos and videos check out Double Sided Media and Chud Trackers.

Local Links

  • Sarah Medary is proposing changes around disposal of trash that target the unhoused and others experiencing poverty, comments need to be submitted by 5 PM today

  • Eugene Jail Support has put out a call to support the bail for a BIPOC trans-woman

The week ahead