On this anniversary of the insurrectionist riot at the U.S. Capitol, roughly 30 people gathered outside the federal courthouse in Eugene this afternoon.
Most present denounced the far-right groups that stormed the building, in an attempt to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Fueled by Donald Trump’s “big lie” that Joe Biden won unfairly, many rioters attacked capitol police and vandalized offices. Five people died that day, and four police officers took their own lives in the weeks afterward.
Locals outside the courthouse held signs supporting democracy, and called for the insurrectionists to face justice. More than 725 people have been arrested in the past year, including five in Oregon.
A lone counterprotester stood across the corner, holding a sign with a coded profanity conservatives have used to attack President Biden.
The event was peaceful. But one activist told KLCC that organizers kept plans offline, to avoid possibly drawing in violent confrontations with right-wing militia groups like the Proud Boys.
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