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An individual dressed as Elmo was recorded provoking protesters at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center in Portland, Oregon, over the weekend, leading to altercations with the demonstrators.
Katie Daviscourt of The Post Millennial filmed the confrontation at the ICE South Waterfront facility on Saturday.
The video shows the person in disguise lying on the ground near the ICE building entrance, crawling outside, and then performing a dance in front of the anti-ICE protestors who were attempting to engage with the individual.
The incident reportedly left anti-ICE demonstrators confused and frustrated, according to newsgathering website Storyful.
The event took place at the contentious ICE detention center located at South Waterfront along South Moody Avenue in Portland, Oregon. (Katie Daviscourt/The Post Millennial)
The permit allows detention and administrative use under specific limitations, but lawmakers have raised concerns that ICE has been holding detainees there for longer than the required 12-hour limit.
Residents and lawmakers raised other concerns, saying that the facility undermines the city’s sanctuary city policy, while residents testified about targeted arrests, gas attacks and intimidation.
“Our values of sanctuary and humanity are under siege,” local resident Michelle Dar said. She also said that federal agents’ armed actions threatened everyone’s safety, not just that of immigrants.
The person in the adult-sized Elmo costume can be seen dancing next to anti-ICE demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday. (Katie Daviscourt/The Post Millennial)
Other residents complained that loud bangs and flashbangs were disrupting life for residents of subsidized housing and students of a local school. A handful of people also blamed Antifa for the ugly scenes outside the facility.
Chaotic scenes have been unfolding outside the facility since June, including in one incident when a large group of anti-ICE protesters tried to block law enforcement vehicles from entering and exiting the facility, forcing agents to deploy rubber bullets, tear gas and flash bangs to disperse the crowd.
