Video Highlights Salem PD's Ineffective Approach To Ongoing TCAPP Rioting

Witnesses say Salem PD did not intervene until after extensive violence by Proud Boys had erupted.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Last Tuesday yet another riot broke out on Wolverine Avenue at the unpermitted ‘Church at Planned Parenthood’ (TCAPP) event in Salem, Oregon, marking the third month in a row of arrests/violence and the second month in a row where violence reached a riot-declaration level. TCAPP occurs on City of Salem property every second Tuesday of every month.

According to witnesses, several heavily armed Proud Boys and members of the ‘Sons of Liberty’ were working ‘security' for the unpermitted event when they deployed chemical irritants at counter-protesters, including bear mace, as well as shot frozen paintballs, pepper balls, and other projectiles at counter-protesters and towards the Lancaster Commons Apartments.

Attackers included Oregon Proud Boys leader Dan Tooze, Sons of Liberty leader ‘Tiny’ Toese, neo-Nazi David Willis who was arrested in Salem on January 6th for assaulting counter-protesters with a paintball gun, and insurrectionist Jeff Grace who is facing charges for participating in the storming of the U.S. Capitol in D.C. on January 6th.

As you can see in the video recap, the approach that Salem PD took on August 10th was incredibly ineffective. Conflicts between opposing groups started at roughly 6 PM near the intersection of Coral Avenue and Wolverine Avenue, and Salem PD arrived to the area at about the same time.

Rather than do what Salem PD claimed it would do in its press release leading up to the unpermitted event (prevent acts of violence and keep opposing groups from converging), dozens of officers stationed completely out of sight of the two groups in the Village East Office Park for over two hours before intervening, and only after extensive Proud Boys violence had erupted.

Obviously, if two angry groups are allowed to let their anger boil for two hours completely unmitigated with no attempts to de-escalate by Salem PD, eventually that anger will boil over, which is exactly what happened at TCAPP on August 10th.

Four members of the Proud Boys are already facing rioting-related charges, including several felonies, for acts that they committed at TCAPP on July 13th. Media coverage appears to only have reported on three of the arrests, and that incomplete number of arrests was echoed by Salem PD Chief Trevor Womack during the August 9th Salem City Council meeting.

In addition to the arrests of Proud Boys Shawn Davidson and Ricky Clark at the scene on July 13th (per Salem PD’s press release), Proud Boys member Gordon Cronk was later arrested and charged with multiple felonies, as was Proud Boys member Joshua Dornon (case 21CR35523, seen attacking non-combative people with bear mace from behind while brandishing a firearm on his hip in a Statesman Journal image).

Court documents in those cases show that there are actually at least two more unnamed suspects that were involved in the crimes (as corroborated by an image in the Statesman Journal), however, it’s unclear whether or not Salem PD is pursuing charges against those Proud Boys.

It’s also unclear if Salem PD is going to follow through on what it claimed in its pre-TCAPP press release for August 10th that the Department would be doing follow-up investigations if crimes were committed.

As seen in the video linked to above, crimes were clearly being committed well after Salem PD had declared an unlawful assembly, including serious crimes such as rioting that do not require a victim in order to bring charges, and the license plates of the vehicles involved were easy to see and documented on video.

It’s also unclear why Chief Womack would provide incorrect information to the City Council on August 9th regarding the number of Proud Boys arrested at the July 13th TCAPP.

Either he didn’t actually fully know about the details of a very serious matter his Department is handling, or he was purposefully trying to downplay the danger facing our community by lowering the number of actual arrests and people of interest.

Either one is unacceptable and directly contributes to the growing danger that the Proud Boys pose to the Salem community.

As the publicly available evidence clearly demonstrates, the approach that the City of Salem has taken to TCAPP is not working. In fact, the danger to the neighborhood only seems to increase with every passing month.

As seen on numerous livestreams, TCAPP ‘security’ and attendees created such a large cloud of bear mace that it reportedly blew into the open windows of apartments in the Lancaster Commons complex. Residents understandably had their windows open to help combat the heatwave that was in effect at the time.

In addition to bear mace going into windows, many projectiles were shot towards the Lancaster Commons Apartment.

TCAPP has already indicated on social media that it will be back on September 14th. Again, TCAPP occurs on City of Salem property without a permit.

The North Lancaster neighborhood cannot be expected to endure a scheduled monthly riot, especially one that is seemingly accommodated by the City of Salem.

People certainly have a First Amendment right to peacefully assemble, however, that right is always balanced against matters of public safety. Oregon City already took action regarding Proud Boys gatherings, rioting, and city property, so there is precedent in Oregon on this type of issue.

Citizens of Salem are being encouraged to contact Councilor Chris Hoy since it is his Ward where this is happening and to demand that he lead the charge on preventing TCAPP from meeting on City of Salem property on September 14th.

What the City has done to this point has clearly not worked, and it’s time for a new approach to address this serious public safety issue in a meaningful, effective way.