Warning: This story contains graphic images and content.

The powerful projectile surged into the crowd and split Anthony's skull open. In that instant, everything turned red.

"I didn't know if my brains had spilled from my head or if I was about to bleed out in the street," he said.

The Southeast Portland resident was one of at least three people hospitalized last weekend after riot police used crowd-control weapons on anti-fascist demonstrators gathered in downtown Portland to protest a rally by the right-wing group Patriot Prayer.

He asked The Oregonian/OregonLive to not disclose his full name for safety reasons.

Anthony, who is in his 30s, suffered a traumatic brain injury when a flash-bang grenade — a device that delivers jarring blasts intended to disperse crowds — struck him from behind as he ran, lodging itself in his bicycle helmet.

Photos of his mangled scalp and the munition-riddled headgear went viral, though the wounded protester remained anonymous.

For some, the gruesome images came to define an afternoon of violence waged not by political rivals — as many had feared — but by the police force sent to protect them.

"It felt like a war zone," said Anthony, who has attended multiple demonstrations against Patriot Prayer in the last year. A pair of civil rights attorneys joined him during an interview Friday.

The chaotic scene Aug. 4 thrust a city wracked by riots and violent demonstrations during the Trump era into the national spotlight once again.

Portland police have since come under fire for their use of flash-bang grenades, pepper balls, pepper spray and other so-called "less lethal" rounds fired at or near protesters.

Chief Danielle Outlaw this week said the bureau had temporarily suspended the use of the flash-bang projectiles until it can be determined if they are working properly.

But Outlaw, speaking at a news conference, defended officer tactics, which she said were used successfully to prevent right- and left-wing demonstrators from clashing.

Anthony, who works as an industrial mechanic, sees it differently.

"If it was their plan to brutalize members of their own community, then I guess the police did their job," Anthony said.

He had joined more than 1,000 people to protest the rally organized by Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson, a Vancouver activist with a history of stirring fierce opposition in Portland.

Gibson's demonstrations have been criticized for attracting white nationalists and those who promote racist or bigoted views. Many of the several hundred participants last Saturday had arrived at Tom McCall Waterfront Park from out of state.

Dozens of them carried weapons or donned helmets and body armor, prepared to battle with black-clad anti-fascist protesters, commonly known as antifa.

At a June Patriot Prayer rally, brutal street fights broke out between the groups and Portland police declared the melee a riot.

"They should know they can't parade around Portland unopposed," said Anthony. "They can't intimidate our community."

Police formed barriers along Southwest Naito Parkway early in the day and effectively kept the groups separated, close enough to hurl insults, but too far to throw punches.

After hours of relative calm, the police response escalated when officers ordered those protesting Patriot Prayer near Southwest Columbia Street and Naito to disperse.

When counter-demonstrators didn't immediately leave, riot police opened fire on them with an array of less-lethal munitions.

Police have said protesters had thrown a "chemical agent" and other objects at officers. Outlaw this week said police didn't give orders for protesters to disperse or officers to use crowd-control weapons until after things were thrown at police.

Multiple counter-protesters and reporters, including those from Oregonian/OregonLive, didn't see that. A review of video footage capturing the contentious moment did not find projectiles thrown by counter-protesters prior to the use of riot control weapons by police.

Anthony and the people near him heard deafening explosions and turned to retreat, he said. He was a half block up from Naito when the flash-bang slammed into the back of his head.

The impact completely disoriented him, Anthony said. Blood poured down his face and his vision faded. The sound of his own heaving breath pounded in his ears.

"I thought was going to die," he said.

A few fellow protesters and at least one volunteer street medic rushed to Anthony's aid. But the group had to move the injured man twice to avoid being struck by police munitions as riot cops continued up the block amid blasts and colored smoke.

A member of the Rosehip Medical Collective, who did not wish to speak publicly, confirmed Anthony's account.

People were eventually able to load Anthony into a car and drove him to the hospital, where he spent the next 24 hours. The injury caused hemorrhaging, and he had a tube inserted in his skull to help drain the bleeding.

"The nurse told him the blow would have been lethal had he not been wearing a helmet," said Jenny Nickolaus, a friend and fellow activist. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Crowd-control weapons used by police injured other protesters as well.

A flash-bang grenade left Michelle Fawcett, 52, with severe soft tissue wounds and third-degree chemical burns, she told The Oregonian/OregonLive this week. James Mattox, 29, told the Daily Beast that rubber bullets caused a large gash in his arm that required stitches.

A handful of people reported less severe wounds.

"The Portland Police Bureau's response to protest is completely unacceptable in a free society," David Rogers, executive director for the ACLU of Oregon, said in a statement.

"The repeated use of excessive force, and the targeting of demonstrators based on political beliefs, are a danger to the First Amendment rights of all people."

But Anthony remains unbowed. The head injury won't deter him from returning to the streets, he said.

"The fight against white supremacy is an ongoing battle," he said. "I'm going to be there until it ends."

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

skavanaugh@oregonian.com

503-294-7632 || @shanedkavanaugh