The Second Push of the Federal Court House in Portland, Oregon

The mood was celebratory and fierce. Portlanders were no longer on the defensive against the federal occupation. Using sections of chainlink fence, lumber and other debris, members of the crowd wedged shut some of the doors and hatches covering the front of the federal court house. Images of that night are cereal men in camouflage and plate carriers pointing rifles at the chests of te naturs and tank tops and respirators. As the bulk of the crowd waded back into the gas and smoke blanketing lounsdale park, a shield wall formed up in the middle of south west main street and held.