Stop us if this sounds familiar.

A pair of dueling protests is scheduled in downtown Portland Saturday afternoon. The first is a rally in the name of "freedom and courage" organized by Joey Gibson, U.S. Senate candidate for Washington and leader of right-wing, Vancouver-based Patriot Prayer.

The other is a counter-demonstration from local anti-fascist groups they say is an effort to defend the city from a crew of outside agitators.

The Patriot Prayer demonstration begins at 4 p.m. at Terry Schrunk Plaza. Supporters and counter-protesters alike are expected to arrive at least an hour ahead of time, with a march through the streets of Portland planned after the rally.

If those details trigger a sense of Déjá vu, it's because Gibson and the cadre of detractors he calls out as antifa in live streams on both his personal Facebook page and the one he manages for Patriot Prayer have re-enacted this particular circumstance twice in the last year.

The same groups clashed on June 3 after a similar rally.

The event was billed as a going-away party of sorts for Patriot Prayer bruiser Tusitala "Tiny" Toese, who had twice been arrested during such rallies in Portland. Police made four arrests that day after members of both groups descended on the waterfront and broke out into a rock fight as the Rose Festival CityFair continued nearby.

Gibson and his cohorts put on the demonstration nearly one year to the day since he hosted another such protest, this one in the name of free speech, in the federal plaza. That rally was followed by mass public outcry when Portland police surrounded and kettled protesters and journalists alike, an action that an oversight committee ruled was legally unjustified this year.

The dueling demonstrations aren't the only protests scheduled for Saturday.

Hours before the Terry Schrunk Plaza gatherings, a rally called "Families Belong Together" is set to start at the North Park Blocks at 10 a.m.

It's a condemnation of the Trump Administration's crackdown on illegal immigration and the family separation policy the president effectively ended with an executive order he signed June 20.

--Eder Campuzano | 503.221.4344

ecampuzano@oregonian.com