Naked Portland Bike Riders Protest Militarization of Portland

Oct 13, 2025 09:23 PM EDT, Mon

Naked bike riders protest Trump’s military plans in Portland

Organizers called an “emergency” edition of the annual ride to bring attention to the “ongoing and escalating harm” to immigrants and Indigenous people.

Oct. 13, 2025, 5:57 PM EDT By Erum Salam

As the threat of National Guard troops descending on the city looms, protesters in Portland, Oregon, are putting a new spin on their demonstrations against the Trump administration.

Organizers called an “emergency” edition of the World Naked Bike Ride, an annual Portland event that typically takes place in the summer. On Sunday, naked cyclists took to the streets of the quirky city in order to “bring attention to the Militarization of Portland and the ongoing and escalating harm that is happening to our immigrant and indigenous communities,” organizers wrote in an Instagram post.

Recent protests in Portland have caught attention for striking a lighter, more absurdist tone than other demonstrations against the Trump administration.

Recent protests in Portland have caught attention for striking a lighter, more absurdist tone than other demonstrations against the Trump administration. Poking fun at President Donald Trump’s false claim that Portland has been ravaged by war, protesters have gathered at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in recent weeks in inflatable dinosaur, frog, unicorn and miscellaneous Pokémon costumes, dancing to upbeat music.

Trump has federalized National Guard troops in several cities, such as Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., in an effort to crack down on what he has characterized as out-of-control crime. In addition, he also has floated invoking the rarely used Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that would allow him to use the military for domestic law enforcement purposes.

Earlier this month, a federal judge ordered a temporary hold on the deployment of National Guard troops to Oregon.

“The court recognized what we’ve said all along: there is no rebellion, no invasion, and no justification for militarizing our communities,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a statement. “The President cannot keep playing whack-a-mole with different states’ Guard units to get around court orders and the rule of law.”

Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MSNBC Digital. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.

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