Cache of guns?

UPDATED 2:25 p.m. Tuesday: A day after Mayor Ted Wheeler called out Patriot Prayer for bringing a cache of guns to the rooftop of a parking garage before a summer protest in downtown Portland, the mayor and police clarified significant details about the discovery and what was done.

Police said they found four people on top of the garage at Southwest First Avenue and Jefferson Street on Aug. 4 with three rifles, all in cases, The Oregonian/OregonLive's Maxine Bernstein reports.

The men let a sergeant inspect the rifles. None of the rifles was loaded. One was disassembled. All the men had concealed weapons permits, according to police.

The men told police they planned to stay at the garage and "act as a quick extraction team'' in case someone from their group was injured during the demonstration.

A sergeant instructed the men to store the rifles in a locked container in the back of one of their pickups and place any ammunition in a different part of the truck, and they complied. Police made no arrests.

No laws were broken, and there was no imminent danger to the public, police said Tuesday.

Read the latest here.

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John Rudoff

Police form a line during a rally in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018. Small scuffles broke out Saturday as police in Portland, Oregon, deployed "flash bang" devices and other means to disperse hundreds of right-wing and self-described anti-fascist protesters.(AP Photo/John Rudoff)

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Members of right-wing Patriot Prayer positioned themselves on a Portland rooftop with a cache of firearms before a protest in August, city officials announced Monday.

The news came to light as city officials scrambled to find a way to end the repeated violent clashes between dueling political factions downtown, The Oregonian/OregonLive's Gordon R. Friedman reported Monday. A brawl broke out during a showdown between Patriot Prayer and anti-fascist protesters Saturday outside a popular downtown bar, signaling the latest flare-up in a long line of confrontations between the opposing groups.

Police saw people with hard-knuckled gloves, guns, batons, knives and pepper spray in Saturday's bloody brawl, but they didn't confiscate weapons or make any arrests. Police officers did seize the weapons found on the rooftop in August, but they were later given back. No arrests were made in that case, a police official said.

Here's what we know about the August case and how it ties into recent Portland protest policing news:

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Mark Graves, The Oregonian

Patriot Prayer, antifa face off in downtown Portland on Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018. Mark Graves/Staff LC- Mark Graves

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What happened?

Prior to the start of a scheduled Aug. 4 demonstration, "the Portland Police Bureau discovered individuals who positioned themselves on a rooftop parking structure in downtown Portland with a cache of firearms," Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said during a City Hall press conference Monday.

The people on the rooftop were members of Patriot Prayer, said Assistant Chief Ryan Lee, who appeared at the press conference with Wheeler and other police officials. Police officers seized the weapons found on the rooftop that day, but they were later given back. No arrests were made because the protesters had not broken any laws and all had licenses to carry concealed weapons, Lee said.

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Mark Graves, The Oregonian

Patriot Prayer, antifa face off in downtown Portland on Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018. Mark Graves/Staff LC- Mark Graves

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What kind of guns?

Berk Nelson, a senior mayoral aide, said the weapons included "long guns."

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Mark Graves, The Oregonian

Patriot Prayer, antifa face off in downtown Portland on Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018. Mark Graves/Staff LC- Mark Graves

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Who was there?

Neither Lee nor Wheeler named the people who guns were seized from.

Patriot Prayer's leader, Joey Gibson, said he does not know who among his group was stopped.

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John Rudoff

Patriot Prayer founder and rally organizer Joey Gibson speaks to his followers at a rally in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018. (AP Photo/John Rudoff)

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What does Gibson have to say about this?

Gibson said Wheeler's statement Monday is the first he heard of the armed rooftop incident. Gibson said he spoke to a Portland police officer after the mayor's announcement, who relayed to him that Patriot Prayer members were readying for the protest at the parking garage and peacefully carrying their guns. Gibson said he does not know who among his group was stopped.

"It sounds like they completely exaggerated it," Gibson said of officials' statements Monday. He said officials made it seem as if there was "some sniper pointing his gun down at people." Gibson said he believes arrests surely would have been made if the incident was as serious as police made it seem.

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Mark Graves

In this June 30, 2018, file photo, Joey Gibson, left, leader of Patriot Prayer, heads the group's rally in Portland, Ore. Portland is bracing for what could be another round of violent clashes Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018, between a right-wing group holding a rally here and self-described anti-fascist counter-protesters who have pledged to keep Patriot Prayer and other affiliated groups out of this ultra-liberal city. (Mark Graves/The Oregonian via AP, file)

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What did Gibson say before the protest?

Gibson referenced self-defense and carrying firearms in a pair of videos published in advance of the Aug. 4 protest.

"Obviously, self-defense is going to happen," he said in a July 27 video. "You have to protect those who are brave enough to show up even though they can't really defend themselves... we have to make sure they're protected."

He explicitly referenced guns in a video a few days later.

"Everyone should be carrying around guns at all times, especially in our situation," he said July 30.

Gibson also ferried Patriot Prayer participants to the protest from Vancouver in vehicles with armed guards.

Leading up to the event, Alex Jones' InfoWars spread the narrative that Portland antifa were planning to bring their own guns to the rally.

Gibson had made a national call for people to come to the rally, and people from Florida, Texas, Colorado and other states did.

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Mark Graves, The Oregonian

Patriot Prayer, antifa face off in downtown Portland on Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018. Mark Graves/Staff LC- Mark Graves

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Why was this announced now?

Wheeler learned about the rooftop weapons cache Monday while reviewing an ordinance drafted for him that is intended to end that pattern, said spokeswoman Sophia June. The ordinance would restrict the time and place protesters may demonstrate in Portland if they have clashed violently before.

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Shane Dixon Kavanaugh/Staff

Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson and members of his right-wing group hold a "flash march" in downtown Portland on Saturday to protest Portland police's hands-off approach to a prior demonstration.

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What happened Saturday?

A Patriot Prayer demonstration, which was billed as a march for "law and order" in the streets of Portland, descended into chaos as rival political factions broke into bloody brawls.

Members of Patriot Prayer and their black-clad adversaries, known as antifa, used bear spray, bare fists and batons to thrash each other outside Kelly's Olympian, a bar on Southwest Washington Street.

The melee, which lasted more than a minute, ended when riot cops rushed in and fired pepper balls at the street fighters.

The wild scene unfolded amid mounting tensions among both groups, fueled in part by a pair of national news stories.

A march in Portland against police brutality earlier this month drew headlines after law enforcement's hands-off approach to the event was blamed for an encounter between protesters and an elderly driver, which outraged many, including Gibson and his supporters.

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Shane Dixon Kavanaugh/Staff

Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson and members of his right-wing group hold a "flash march" in downtown Portland on Saturday to protest Portland police's hands-off approach to a prior demonstration.

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What's up with the potential protest restrictions?

Portland may put new restrictions on when and where protesters may demonstrate if the groups protesters belong to have a history of violence, Wheeler announced.

The ordinance, a draft copy of which was circulated by the mayor's office, would also allow Wheeler to restrict protests if public safety "is being threatened or will be threatened" or if there is "a substantial likelihood of violence at the planned demonstrations."

Wheeler said he plans to introduce his proposed ordinance as early to the City Council as early as Wednesday.

It's unclear if he has the three necessary votes to pass it.

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Mark Graves, The Oregonian

Patriot Prayer, antifa face off in downtown Portland on Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018. Mark Graves/Staff LC- Mark Graves

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How would it work?

A ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals court could make it legally dicey. It said in 1996 that "First Amendment activity may not be banned simply because similar activity led to or involved instances of violence."

The ACLU of Oregon issued a statement Monday saying Wheeler's proposal "raises many constitutional concerns" because it gives him discretion to regulate speech and assembly "with no meaningful oversight."

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Mark Graves, The Oregonian

Patriot Prayer, antifa face off in downtown Portland on Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018. Mark Graves/Staff LC- Mark Graves

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Read more

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Anna Spoerre/Staff

Patriot Prayer, antifa face off in downtown Portland on Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018. Anna Spoerre/Staff

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This report will be updated as information emerges.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive

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