Pro-Trump protesters arrested after disrupting Oregon legislative session

When members of the Oregon State Legislature met in Portland on Monday to discuss COVID-19 relief bills and other matters, far-right protestors gathered outside the Oregon Capitol Building to protest coronavirus restrictions and social distancing measures. And according to reporters for Portland's CBS-affiliated KOIN Channel 6, four of them were arrested for unlawful assembly.

KOIN's Lindsey Nadrich reports that the protesters "disrupted a special session of the Oregon Legislature Monday, breaking a glass door on the side of the State Capitol." That disruption, according to Nadrich, "was quickly declared an unlawful assembly, resulting in four arrests."

The bills being considered during the special session proposed, among other matters, $800 million in relief to Oregon residents who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic or wildfires. Before the session adjourned, Nadrich notes, the Oregon House of Representatives and Oregon Senate "passed all the bills they considered: the $800 million in relief, cocktails to-go, rent relief for landlords, extension of the eviction moratorium and a bill limiting liability of schools for COVID claims." And the bills moved to Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, to be signed into law.

The four protesters arrested include Ronald Vanvlack, Jerry Dyerson, Jeremiah Pruitt and 41-year-old Ryan Lyles, who according to Nadrich, is "facing charges including trespassing and assaulting a police officer." Lykes, Nadrich reports, is accused of using "bear spray against police officers."

Photos of the protesters, described by KOIN as "pro-Trump and anti-mask," show them carrying pro-Trump signs — and many of them are not wearing masks despite being gathered close together.