{"id":168004,"date":"2025-10-14T08:39:44","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T08:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/throngs-of-naked-portland-bike-riders-offer-a-counternarrative-to-trumps-about-hometown-usa-today\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T08:39:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T08:39:44","slug":"throngs-of-naked-portland-bike-riders-offer-a-counternarrative-to-trumps-about-hometown-usa-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/throngs-of-naked-portland-bike-riders-offer-a-counternarrative-to-trumps-about-hometown-usa-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Throngs of naked Portland bike riders offer a counternarrative to Trump's about hometown – USA Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

PORTLAND, OR \u2013 It\u2019s a typical fall Sunday afternoon here, locals say. Dreary and wet. Temperatures hover in the low 50s, but the cold rain brings a chill to the core. Parents push their children in strollers during downpour breaks, walking and clinging to their coffee cups for warmth. Friends are holed up in bars near downtown, watching NFL games and sharing laughs over brunch plates.
Everytown, USA, some might say: football, friends and family.
But at the Oregon Convention Center Plaza, things look a bit different. A piece of Portland is in protest mode.\u00a0
Hundreds of people gather to cruise the city on bikes.\u00a0
In the cold rain.\u00a0
Naked<\/a>.
Bits and pieces everywhere.\u00a0
Organizers of the World Naked Bike Ride scheduled an \u201cemergency\u201d ride Oct. 12 to bring global attention to President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s plans to deploy National Guard troops to the city.
There were speeches from local organizers and activists, leading the crowd of young and old in chants. It was fascinating to watch as riders who were full-on naked mingled with those in clear ponchos, underwear \u2013 some topless, others bottomless. There was whimsy, of course.\u00a0 Costumes of cartoon characters and puffy pigs, leopard outfits, Halloween masks and fuzzy hats.\u00a0
If their naked bodies weren\u2019t message enough, their signs made quite clear the intent. And many riders wore their messages painted on their bodies.
\u201cEnd occupation. End deportation.\u201d
\u201cNo one is illegal on stolen land.\u201d
\u201cKick yourself out \u2013 you\u2019re an immigrant too.\u201d
\u201cWe\u2019re cold, but not as cold as ICE.\u201d
\u201cSkin color is not probable cause.\u201d
Trump has a narrative about this place. Portland is filled with \u201cantifa and the radical left anarchists,\u201d as he calls them. These criminals have created a war-torn environment where federal law enforcement officers are being attacked and the city is burning to the ground, he says.
There have been clashes outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland in recent weeks. People at the rallies don\u2019t want ICE agents rounding up fellow Portlanders. They don\u2019t approve of the heavy-handed approach to deportation. They don\u2019t want to live in a militarized state of existence among National Guard troops.
And they rode out to the ICE facility on Sunday \u2013 nearly 4 miles \u2013 to continue their protests \u2013 naked and unafraid.\u00a0
\u201cThe people are willing to be vulnerable and stand up for something they believe in,\u201d artist Tyler Wolters, 35, told me, rocking a block-head yellow cartoonish costume that read: \u201cI\u2019m here to party.\u201d\u00a0
Wolters was wearing one thing below the waist: flip-flops.
\u201cProtesting is peaceful, and we are showcasing that by doing what we\u2019re doing,\u201d he said.
A federal judge has blocked Trump\u2019s efforts to deploy troops twice, writing on Oct. 4, \u201cThis country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs.\u201d
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, who was appointed during Trump\u2019s first term, wrote in the ruling, \u201cThis historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: This is a nation of constitutional law, not martial law.\u201d
Even those who didn\u2019t join the bike ride came to bear witness. I noticed a woman fully clothed on the sidewalk watching as the throngs of riders made their way down Grand Avenue. She was smiling widely, yet emotional and near tears.
\u201cDamn, this is a good place to live,\u201d Jennifer Frykman, 70, told me. \u201cI know that this city has at its heart a very beating heart of love and compassion.\u201d
Her tears began to flow in earnest.
And just a few minutes later, the sun came out.
Suzette Hackney is a national columnist. Reach her on X: @suzyscribe<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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PORTLAND, OR \u2013 It\u2019s a typical fall Sunday afternoon here, locals say. Dreary and wet. Temperatures hover in the low 50s, but the cold rain brings a chill to the core. Parents push their children in strollers during downpour breaks, walking and clinging to their coffee cups for warmth. Friends are holed up in bars […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":168005,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-168004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168004\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}