Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson announced Friday on Facebook Live that his Aug. 4 rally would take place at the waterfront in downtown Portland.

While Gibson said more information about the rally would become available this weekend, this location could allow rally attendees to carry guns. Portland code prohibits weapons in parks, but guns carried by those with a valid Oregon concealed handgun license are allowed. However, the city of Portland is looking into options to see if there are restrictions that can be placed, Portland police spokesperson Sgt. Pete Simpson said.

Patriot Prayer is a right-wing group that has previously staged rallies in Portland, and police declared the group's June 30 rally a riot. Gibson is a U.S. Senate candidate in Washington, though he comes to Portland to rally and march.

"Why do we go to Portland? We don't go there to fight," Gibson said in his live video. "We go there to exercise our First Amendment right. We go there to stand up for the Constitution. We go there to bring light into a city that does not respect people who are different, while they run around and say that we're bigots."

Buses traveling from Vancouver will include armed security, Gibson said in the video. The buses are privately owned, and he said the vehicles would change the way the group rallies and marches now.

"We have several teams on each bus that are on call for any sort of emergency situation so we can get people in and out," he said.

Gibson was in Portland recently when he visited the Occupy ICE encampment outside the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Southwest Portland. Videos on his Facebook page show him at the camp Tuesday night before police cleared it Wednesday.

"Always prepare for the worst," he said about the Aug. 4 rally, "but I don't think it's going to be as bad as last time."

A protest against Patriot Prayer has been planned for the same day, and a Facebook description says the group makes no apologies for the use of force to keep the community safe from right-wing violence.

Simpson said the police bureau is still developing its plans for the rally.

"The goal is to be able to provide a safe place for everybody that is desiring to come to these events, whether it be Patriot Prayer, counter demonstration groups or onlookers," he said.

--Hannah Boufford

hboufford@oregonian.com / @hannahboufford