Several pictures and videos of the group were posted across social media as protests calling for an end to police brutality against Black Americans continue to take place in Oregon.
One photo posted by Twitter user Hermits United, shows the group of dads, holding leaf blowers, a sign that says, “FATHERS AGAINST FASCISM” and wearing helmets. The group of dads refer to themselves as the “PDX Dad Pod” according to the Twitter account.
“Portland dads,” the caption of the photo read.
Prior to the start of the protests, the PDX Dad Pod Twitter account posted a tweet that read, “come stand up for your town, your neighbors, your kids. Look for the other orange shirts, use the buddy system. And remember, safety first.” The tweet also includes a photo which shows the leaf blowers the dads were carrying and different details about the protest on Tuesday night.
“For the 1st time last night the Portland Dad Brigade came out to protest. Everyone in orange is a Dad,” Twitter user Joshua Potash wrote. “Moms around the country are organizing local Walls of Moms. Dads around the country, we need you too.”
Drew Marine, of Fox 12 news in Oregon posted a video of the Tuesday night protest with a caption that read, “a line of @WallofMoms and @pdxdadpod stretches from the front of the courthouse to the justice center.”
Another video posted to Twitter by user GriffinMalone6 shows protesters using shields, leaf blowers, drums and umbrellas to defend themselves against the police.
The photos and videos of the dads and moms in Portland on Tuesday come as protests continue across the city. Protests began following the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25, after being held down by several police officers.
The Wall of Moms organization has been helping to protect protesters from police by forming a chain on interlocking arms and acting as a wall. According to the Wall of Moms website, they are a “PDX-based network of womxn [sic] and non-binary mother-identifying folx [sic] dedicated to supporting the current civil rights movement to end police brutality by defending and supporting BLM protesters on the front line and online.”
On Monday, the moms were defending protesters outside the Portland federal courthouse, when law enforcement deployed “CS gas,” according to the Portland Police Department.
Shortly after the incident on Monday, the group of dads posted a picture to Twitter of a leaf blower, with a caption that read “did somebody say dad jokes?? What do [you] get when you cross a skunk with a police?……Law and odor!”
Newsweek reached out to the PDX Dad Pod and the Wall of Moms for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
