Joey Gibson may be facing a $1 million civil lawsuit, but the right-wing activist will be represented in court by the chair of the Multnomah County Republican Party.

James Buchal, head of the Multnomah County GOP, agreed to represent Gibson in a suit that stems from a May 1 confrontation in Portland, the Willamette Week first reported Friday.

Gibson, founder of right-wing group Patriot Prayer, and more than two dozen others were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by Abram Goldman-Armstrong, owner of Portland-based Cider Riot, in May.

Goldman-Armstrong said the group showed up at his northeast Portland cider bar following May Day demonstrations and fought with customers, causing mayhem and physical injury to at least one person. The claims include negligence, trespass and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The bar was hosting a May Day celebration at the time, which served as a gathering for people who had participated in protests earlier in the day.

Buchal told Willamette Week that Gibson was “unfairly maligned” and claims he was on public property adjacent to Cider Riot, where his presence “constituted political expression on a matter of public concern.”

That matter of concern regards the left-wing Antifa protesters, Buchal said, who have engaged with Patriot Prayer during several counterprotests in Portland that have turned violent. Clashes between the two groups have gained international attention in the wake of the 2016 presential election.

Buchal also recently filed suit against Portland Public Schools on behalf of two sets of parents, accusing officials of violating their children’s civil rights by helping facilitate protests advocating gun control after the shooting in Parkland, Florida in 2018.

--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB