Clip of 2020 unrest resurfaces as Trump deploys National Guard to Portland

"After months of Antifa riots terrorizing Portland neighborhoods, President Trump is sending troops to restore order," a September 28, 2025 Facebook posts begins.

"Streets are filled with smoke, explosions, and chaos, while local leaders stand by. Homes, businesses, and residents are under attack," it claims, sharing footage of heavily-armed officers in gas masks grabbing a person and pinning them to the ground.

On X, posts in English and French spread the same footage of clashes in tear gas-filled streets with the logo of the Russian television channel Russia Today visible.

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Screenshot of a Facebook post taken October 3, 2025

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Screenshot of a post on X taken October 3, 2025

The footage also spread on TikTok as Trump authorized the deployment of troops to Portland. The move follows similar actions by the Republican president to mobilize troops against the wishes of local Democratic leadership in Los Angeles and the District of Columbia (archived here).

Some 200 troops are being asked to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other government personnel, but as of October 3, they had yet to move out in the city.

Trump's September 27 order claims that since June 2025 "Antifa militants have laid siege to the ICE field office in south Portland" (archived here).

But Portland's Mayor Keith Wilson called the deployment of National Guard troops "unwanted, unneeded and un-American." Oregon state and local authorities filed a lawsuit (archived here) on September 28 accusing Trump of overreach. 

There have been some clashes in the block immediately surrounding the ICE facility, but the images resurfacing on social media show violence that accompanied racial justice protests in 2020. 

July 2020 demonstrations

A reverse image search leads to the source of the footage, shared July 26, 2020 posts on X from Andy Ngo, a conservative influencer known for posting protest footage. 

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Screenshot of posts from X taken October 1, 2025

Following the May 25, 2020, murder of Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Black Lives Matter protests were held across the country.

Misinformation about the movement also spread widely. 

In Portland, a daily mobilization initially brought together thousands, but the demonstrations often turned violent and in July 2020, during Trump's first presidency, he ordered federal agents to the city as part of the Department of Homeland Security's Protecting American Communities Task Force.

Portland Police declared a riot several times during the sustained protests, including in August and September 2020. The months of unrest resulted in several deaths and the arrest of thousands of demonstrators.

The current protests do not compare to the scale of the violence in 2020.

On September 30, 2025 Portland Police Chief Bob Day said in a press conference that the situation concerns "one city block" (archived here).

He said: "The events that are happening down there do not rise to the level of attention that they are receiving" (archived here).

He added that he had seen short clips from 2020 and 2021 resurfacing but emphasized that the reality on the ground was "not in line with that national narrative."

Local media reported that Portland Police have arrested 27 people since June 8 in connection with protests at the ICE facility. The Portland FBI field office said on X that 129 arrests on federal charges have been made during the same period (archived here).

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A crowd of protesters gathers outside of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on September 28, 2025 in Portland, Oregon (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / MATHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND)

AFP has reported on additional misinformation associated with the deployment of troops to Portland here and here.