US: Women Form 'Wall Of Moms' To Protect Protesters From Officers In Portland

In the videos of the incident that has gone viral, crowds can be heard chanting, "Feds stay clear, moms are here!" and "Feds go home!" In the images and videos, several women dressed in white and wearing bike helmets can be seen with their elbows linked.

According to reports, Bev Barnum, a 35-year-old from Portland, organised an event on Facebook, "calling all moms to do what they do best– protect people."

On Saturday and Sunday, the women stood for hours in front of the city's federal courthouse, which has become a flashpoint of the conflict between protesters and the officers.

"We tried in earnest to give the kids a break by shifting the pervasive narrative that protestors are rioters ...To be clear, we moms weren't armed, throwing rocks, throwing water...THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN," Barnum told The Independent.

"We were gassed for chanting 'Leave The Kids Alone.' I want you to think about what's happening in this country and ask yourself how you're going to help change it," she added.

Barnum also connected with Don't Shoot Portland, a Black-led advocacy group that has been fighting for social change in Portland since 2014, who helped her and other moms for protesting safely.

For nearly seven weeks, Portland has seen mass demonstrations against racism and police brutality, which were sparked by the death of George Floyd. Floyd, a Black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Floyd's death had sparked 'Black Lives Matter' protests across the globe.

Last week, US President Donald Trump and his administration deployed federal agents to tackle protests in some cities. However, the deployment of federal agents has escalated tensions.