REVEALED: Portland right-wingers had gunmen positioned with a cache of weapons before recent protest

Members of the right-wing Patriot Prayer group stowed a cache of loaded firearms at the top of a parking garage in downtown Portland above an August rally.

The Portland Mercury reported that police revealed in a Monday night press conference that they found and seized the firearms ahead of the group's August 4 rally and "redirected" the group members. No arrests were made and police noted that the members had concealed carry permits.

The Monday press conference held by the Portland Police Bureau was initially convened to announce a new city ordinance adopted by Mayor Ted Wheeler that will require right-wing groups and the anti-fascists protesting against them to be corralled in separate designated areas.

The October 15 press conference was the first time PPB acknowledged publicly that its officers seized the loaded weapons from Patriot Prayer ahead of the rally.

The new city ordinance came after Patriot Prayer, the Proud Boys and antifascists brawled outside a bar on October 13. Portland police were criticized for making no arrests during the violent incident.

Willamette Week noted that the October fight was reminiscent of the June 30 Patriot Prayer rally in which an antifascist counterprotester's skull was fractured during the riot that ensued between the dueling groups.