Extreme-right wing groups converging in Oregon for a rally this weekend are stoking fears that an outbreak of deadly violence not seen since Charlottesville, Virginia last year could throw the city of Portland into chaos.

Security officials are on high alert as the Patriot Prayer Rally is set to kickoff on Saturday at noon at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

Members of two groups who plan to attend the event, Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys - described as 'armed,' 'pro-fascists' and 'white supremacists' - are the most concerning to local police officials.

Saturday's event in Portland also serves as a rally for the so-called 'Gibson for Senate Freedom March,' organized by Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson (pictured left)

The last rally, on June 30, was declared a riot after armed Patriot Prayer and Proud Boy members repeatedly charged at anti-fascists demonstrators.

Saturday's event in Portland also serves as a rally for the so-called 'Gibson for Senate Freedom March,' organized by Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson, who is running for elected office as a Republican from Washington state, according to The Huffington Post.

Gibson has attempted to distance himself from the white supremacist label, but has an open affiliation with Identity Evropa and the Traditionalist Workers Party, self-described white nationalist groups

Gibson has been touring up and down the Northwest trying to spread awareness of his campaign since launching in 2017, under the banner of 'free speech' and 'patriotism.'

But police say that Gibson's rallies have served more as a pretext for Patriot Prayer and Proud Boy members to attack anti-fascist protesters.

Which is why experts are particularly concerned about an outbreak of violence occurring at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park rally on Saturday, where local ordinances have made it legal to carry firearms.

'Oregon is an open carry state and unlike previous events, these groups are not expecting to be disarmed by law enforcement,' director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center Heidi Beirich told the Post.

'After being emboldened by the June 30 rally in Portland that turned violent, other far-right activists have stated that they intend to be in Portland this weekend,' Beirich said.

Despite the danger, counter-protesters are hoping to organize enough people to run the extreme-right groups out of town.

'One of the things folks keep saying is 'If you just ignored them, they'd probably go away,' Effie Baum, a counterprotest organizer, told HuffPost.

'There are many examples across history that explicitly tell us this is not true. The community at large in Portland has tried ignoring them... Despite that, Joey Gibson and Patriot Prayer have not gone away.'

: Fighting breaks out between antifascist counter-protesters and far-right Patriot Prayer supporters during a freedom march near Terry Shrunk Plaza on June 03, 2018

Police arrest a left-wing protester during a protest to oppose the right wing group 'The Patriot Prayer Movement,' in downtown Portland, Oregon on September 10, 2017

'If nobody is there to oppose them, then there is nobody to prevent them from targeting the marginalized members of our community,' Baum said.

'We need to show up en masse and chase these violent and dangerous groups back out just like we did in the 1980s and 1990s.'

The Northwest has long been a magnet for far-right extremists, a fact that came into focus last year when white supremacist Jeremy Joseph Christian allegedly attacked three people on a Portland MAX train, killing two of them.

Christian reportedly attended a Gibson rally a month before the killings occurred.

The Northwest has long been a magnet for far-right extremists, a fact that came into focus last year when white supremacist Jeremy Joseph Christian (pictured) allegedly attacked three people on a Portland MAX train, killing two of them

Gibson has attempted to distance himself from the white supremacist label, but has an open affiliation with Identity Evropa and the Traditionalist Workers Party, self-described white nationalist groups.

Gibson has also cultivated a following among the Proud Boys, who the SPLC has designated as a hate group due to its 'misogynistic and anti-Muslim views.'

The Portland police department said it will have a 'significant' presence at the rally on Saturday and will be searching individuals for contraband like weapons before they are allowed to enter the park.

Individuals will open-carry permits, however, will be able to enter into the park with their weapons.

Activists in Charlottesville issued a statement on Friday condemning the 'rogues gallery of white nationalists, fascists and Nazis' expected to show up for Gibson's rally on Saturday.

'Charlottesville understands all too well what it means to have fascist agitators bring choreographed terror into our community,' the statement read in part.

'We remember bracing ourselves last year against the threat of white supremacist attacks cloaked as free speech.'

'We send solidarity and love to Portland, particularly to communities most targeted by the Islamophobic, transphobic, anti-immigrant, genocidal agenda of Saturday's fascist event,' it continued.

'We call on communities across America to address the deep history of white supremacy, recently amplified by the Trump administration, that generates this latest wave of fascist terror.'

Heather Heyer, a paralegal whom colleagues said was dedicated to social justice, was killed after clashes between white nationalists attending a 'Unite the Right' gathering and counter-protesters erupted last year in Charlottesville.

James Fields, a 20-year-old Ohio man, was charged with her murder after allegedly using his car to plow into a group of anti-fascist demonstrators.

He has plead not guilty to the charges and is currently awaiting trial.

Police say that Gibson's rallies have served more as a pretext for Patriot Prayer and Proud Boy members to attack anti-fascist protesters (Pictured August 11, 2017 in Charlottesville)