As part of an estimated 2,600 other “No Kings” events held across the U.S., thousands of gathered in communities across Oregon on Saturday to denounce the Trump Administration.
Since the first “No Kings” rally back in June, President Trump has intensified crackdowns on immigrants, sent armed troops to largely Democratic cities, and has attempted to fire federal workers as the government shutdown nears its third week.
In Eugene, a crowed estimated by Eugene Police to number between 3,500 and 4,000 people gathered downtown.
Jacob Griffin of Trans Alliance of Lane County, spoke about the Trump Administration’s actions against transgender people and immigrants at the Oct. 18 “No Kings” rally at the Wayne Morse Federal Courthouse in Eugene.
Jenny Jonak, a Eugene 4J school board member, wore an inflatable frog costume to show solidarity for the Portland demonstrators who’ve done regular protests outside that city’s ICE facility. She said she objects to Trump and some conservative media outlets that have characterized Portland as a lawless city that’s on fire and ruled by Antifa.
“And featuring it as war torn when those of us who live in Oregon know that that’s clearly not the case,” said Jonak. “Whether it affects Eugene or not, we’re always concerned when we see our neighbors having encroachments like that and also just seeing something that deviates so much from the truth is disturbing.”
Dean Schlichting and his wife, Clara Lanyi, came to the Wayne Morse Federal Courthouse dressed in inflatable costumes, as a squirrel and bald eagle respectively.
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Bonnie Pettit of Eugene says if her father were alive today, he’d be “turning in his grave” because the U.S. has become like the fascist regimes he fought against in World War II.
Schlichting says as a federal worker himself, he’s very concerned for his peers.
“And I’m sympathetic to everything else that’s going on,” he said. “I mean there’s so many issues, it’s hard to pick a single one. Because it just seems like it’s a full court press to pull our attention in every direction. And make us feel weak and powerless, and that’s not the case as you can see here.”
“We are regular Americans, we are not terrorists,” said Lanyi. “We believe in the Constitution. We are patriots. And we don’t like to see what’s happening with our country today.”
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson pre-emptively criticized the “No Kings” rallies as anti-American.
That didn’t sit well with Bonnie Pettit, 66, whose father served in World War II. She held a sign of her father in uniform, which read “My father fought fascism in World War II. Now I will.” She sees Trump’s crackdown on the press, immigrants, and dissent as too similar to the fascist leaders of the 1930s and 40s, and wondered how her dad would react.
“Probably turning in his grave as most of the ‘Greatest Generation’ would be if they saw what was happening to America right now,” Pettit told KLCC. “I don’t think we were ever a true democracy. But we’re still trying. And I think basically our experiment is over.”
In that same vein was Kendra Northam of Eugene, who held a sign that read, “FREEDOM NOT FASCISM.” She said she was concerned over the rise in sexism, racism, and xenophobia with this administration.
“I think it’s always been there to a certain degree,” she said. “But when you have people in quote-unquote leadership, that promote and make it okay, it brings the worst out of some people and it makes it normalized which is really, really scary. And that’s what I’m saying, history is repeating itself.”
Northam said as a Korean American, she’s aware of discrimination and recalled how Japanese Americans were put into internment camps during World War II, and wonders if similar plans lie ahead for immigrants, people of color, and more.
The scene in Roseburg
The protests also stretched into more rural and politically conservative areas of Oregon.
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In Roseburg, more than 1,000 people lined Stewart Parkway, attracting a stream of supportive honking and occasional jeers from passersby.
Wearing a frog hat in solidarity with Portland, protestor Lynn Bethan said she was there because she loves America, and wants to preserve its liberties for future generations.
“We’re known as a red city in a red county in a blue state,” said Bethan. “And by me being present here, I’m showing that there are progressive people here in this town.”
Roseburg is in Douglas County, where around two-thirds of voters supported Trump in last year’s election.
But Melissa Sherwood with Indivisible Douglas County said the new administration’s deportation policies are harming immigrants in the local community, while Trump’s promises of lower grocery bills haven’t come to pass.
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“Billionaires are doing quite well. Millionaires are doing very well. The average working class American family is suffering,” said Sherwood. “I think that’s really waking people up, and I hope that it wakes up my neighbors.”
Dave Esper, a U.S. army veteran and Sutherland resident, brought a “don’t tread on me” flag to Saturday’s event. He said he was taking the symbol away from those who have taken the American flag from him.
“I’m representing myself as someone that says you’re not going to tread on me or my rights,” said Esper. “You’re not going to tread on my neighbor’s rights. You’re not going to tread on the immigrants that feed us, and feed this nation. You’re not going to tread on them.”
Saturday’s event drew a handful of religious and pro-Charlie Kirk counter-protesters.
Prior to the event, organizers told KLCC they’d learned of a credible threat of gun violence against the No Kings Day event, but they were able to identify and report the individual.
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The Roseburg Police Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for more information about the alleged threat.
“ I’m taking it from them like they took my flag from me.”
Some of Trump’s allies have characterized the “No Kings” rallies as potentially violent “hate America” events, but the first ones held in June were peaceful. No violence has been reported so far from Oregon’s rallies.
Brian Bull reported from Eugene and Nathan Wilk reported from Roseburg.
A recent $3 million donation to back GOP candidates is the largest single contribution by an individual in state history.
Phil Knight, billionaire co-founder of Nike, sits at an event at the Nike campus in Beaverton in 2023. Knight is a prolific donor to Republican candidates in Oregon.
Jonathan Levinson / OPB
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Oregon’s richest man is once again setting political giving records with his checkbook.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight last month sent $3 million to a political committee focused on electing more Republicans to the state Legislature. That committee, Bring Balance to Salem, has been increasingly important to the GOP’s aim of winning back influence in the state over the last two election cycles.
The check marks the largest single donation ever by an individual political donor in Oregon. And it brings Knight’s total giving to Bring Balance to Salem up to $9 million over the last three years.
With the donation, first reported by the Oregon Journalism Project, Knight is signaling once again that he is fed up with Democratic dominance in Oregon. While the billionaire used to donate to members of both parties — including sending $250,000 to Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber’s 2014 reelection bid — his largesse has been squarely focused on the GOP in recent years.
In 2022, Knight spent more than $5 million supporting the two chief candidates running against Democrat Tina Kotek in the governor’s race. In a rare interview that year, Knight told the New York Times he is “an anti-Tina person,” and spoke of being opposed to drug decriminalization and other policies Oregon had enacted.
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Knight’s money didn’t dictate the outcome of the election. Kotek defeated both Republican Christine Drazan and nonaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson that year. Drazan is once again seeking the state’s highest elected office.
Four years before, in 2018, $2.5 million that Knight spent supporting GOP gubernatorial candidate Knute Buehler wasn’t enough to lift him over Democrat Kate Brown either.
Knight has had slightly more success with Bring Balance to Salem, the PAC dedicated to increasing GOP influence in the statehouse. The committee was spearheaded in 2021 by Greg Walden, a former Republican congressman from Hood River who helped run GOP races nationally while in office.
Aided by $2 million from Knight during the 2022 election, Republicans clawed back some seats in the state House and Senate, eliminating Democratic supermajorities. While progress, the result was not as robust as Republican strategists had believed was possible.
The 2024 election was worse for the party. Despite a war chest for Walden’s PAC that included $4 million from Knight, the GOP lost one seat in both the House and Senate, once again falling to superminority status in both chambers.
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Mid-term elections are often unkind to the party that holds power in Washington, D.C., and many prognosticators believe Republicans will face headwinds next year. Knight’s latest check signals he is ready to spend big to counteract that difficulty locally.
History suggests Knight will also intervene in next year’s governor’s race, in which Kotek is widely expected to seek reelection. Despite criticisms on both sides of the aisle, most political observers expect her to prevail.
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Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek talks about climate executive order
The executive order, announced on Nov. 19, is intended to align agencies toward meeting Oregon’s clean energy goals.
Oregon is in a fuel emergency following a shutdown of the Olympic Pipeline, Gov. Tina Kotek declared Nov. 24.
The pipeline provides more than 90% of the fuel used for Oregon’s transportation and was shut down Nov. 17, Kotek said.
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Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson issued an emergency declaration because of the leak on Nov. 19. The declaration activated an emergency management plan and temporarily lifted some regulations for commercial vehicles bringing jet fuel to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
A leak in the pipeline was found during regular maintenance in Washington on Nov. 11, Ferguson said in the declaration.
Oregon does not anticipate shortages to the fuel supply or jet fuel impacts at Oregon’s airports, but prices at the gas pump could increase for Oregonian drivers due to “higher-cost delivery methods,” an FAQ for Kotek’s order said.
The FAQ said it was unknown when the pipeline’s service would be restored.
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The order directs the Oregon Department of Emergency Management to use an emergency plan to direct and determine how agencies can respond.
The Oregon Department of Energy will communicate updates and advice to the state and fuel industry. ODOE will follow the Oregon Fuel Action Plan, which gives guidance for outages or impacts to the fuel supply.
Commercial vehicles “providing direct assistance supporting emergency relief efforts” will get regulatory support from the Oregon Department of Transportation, and the order directs the department to provide waivers to “state-regulated hours-of service requirements.”
The order is in effect for 30 days, but Kotek can extend or end it early.
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Anastasia Mason covers state government for the Statesman Journal. Reach her at acmason@statesmanjournal.com or 971-208-5615.
Just 11 games into his stint as the team’s offensive coordinator, the Las Vegas Raiders have decided to part ways with Chip Kelly.
The Raiders offense is averaging just 15.0 points per game this season, tied for last in the NFL. They hold a 2-9 record after losing to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
The former Oregon Ducks head coach was hired by Las Vegas in February after helping lead the Ohio State Buckeyes to the 2025 national title. His rushing scheme during the Buckeye’s College Football Playoff was lauded, with the Raiders expecting big things from Kelly and 2025 No. 4 overall pick, running back Ashton Jeanty.
The production simply hasn’t been there, as Jeanty has just a single 100-yard game this season and is averaging 3.7 yards per carry. He’s scored nearly as many touchdowns in the receiving game (three) as on the ground (four).
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The Raiders also traded for former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, pairing him with newly-hired head coach Pete Carroll and Kelly. Thus far, he leads the league in interceptions with 13, having thrown just 12 touchdown passes despite having one of the best tight ends in the NFL in Brock Bowers as his go-to target.
At the end of the day, the blame falls on Kelly, who simply couldn’t coax enough points out of this group as they embarked on an extremely disappointing season.
Kelly rose to prominence in the football world during his tenure as the Ducks’ head coach from 2009 to 2012. He led them to the 2011 national championship, where they narrowly lost to the Auburn Tigers, 22-19.
He parlayed his success at Oregon into landing his first head coaching gig in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, leading them to a 10-win season and a playoff berth in his debut campaign in 2013. But his quick, no-huddle offense quickly fell out of style in the league, and he was fired in 2015. He was soon hired by the San Francisco 49ers before being fired after just one season and a dismal 2-14 record.
Now, after less than 12 months on the job with the Raiders, Kelly is once again on the offensive coordinator or head coach job market.
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