Field Record: Portland, Oregon hosted the longest sustained protest activity in U.S. history — 100+ consecutive nights following George Floyd’s murder in May 2020. Federal and local law enforcement conducted extensive deployment of surveillance technology, less-lethal munitions, and cellular tracking tools against demonstrators. This guide draws from DHS after-action reports, ProPublica investigations, and documented protest-support network fieldwork.
Portland was — and remains — a living laboratory of both state crowd-control technology and community-developed counter-measures. What was improvised in 2020 is now standardized practice, available as commercial gear or DIY builds.
Threat 1: Federal Aerial Surveillance — CBP Predator Drone
Documented deployment:
In June 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection flew a General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drone over Portland at 25,000 feet to conduct real-time surveillance of BLM demonstrations. This was confirmed by BuzzFeed News via ADS-B tracking data — the drone appeared on FlightAware as a DOJ-registered Cessna disguise.
The Reaper’s sensor suite includes a Gorgon Stare wide-area motion imagery system capable of simultaneously tracking hundreds of individual pedestrians across a square-kilometer area. The ACLU filed suit demanding cessation and disclosure; the drone was recalled after public exposure.
Why this matters post-2020:
The Reaper deployment was authorized under a legal theory that CBP could provide surveillance support for domestic law enforcement. This precedent was not overturned. As of 2025, the same aircraft types remain available for deployment.
Counter-measures:
Aerial wide-area sensors track movement patterns, not identities. Countermeasures focus on disrupting the matching of tracked individuals to known identities:
- Adversarial pattern outerwear creates a distinct visual signature that differs from your identity-linked clothing
- Coverage change: carry an outerwear shell that reverses or folds to a different color. Change appearance at least once during a demonstration to break tracking thread continuity
- IR-pattern clothing disrupts infrared sensors used in low-light Gorgon Stare operation modes
Threat 2: Less-Lethal Munitions — Federal Deployment Profile
Documented federal arsenal (2020 Portland):
Based on Oregon State Police records and Physician Coalition for Human Rights documentation, federal agents deployed:
- 40mm OC foam baton round (PepperBall): impacts at 60m, OC powder release on contact
- 40mm CS gas round (Federal Ordnance): direct-fire, capable of lethal injury if striking head
- 12-gauge bean bag round: 32g fabric pouch with lead shot, deployed by USMS and CBP agents
- Sting-Ball grenades: rubber-fragmenting devices with OC fill, deployed into crowds
- Skat Shell (CS aerosol): vehicle-mounted, creates area CS saturation
ProPublica documented that agents fired direct-fire munitions into crowds without audible warning. Donovan LaBella suffered a fractured skull from a 40mm round fired by federal agents. Photographer Sergio Olmos was struck by a CS gas canister fired directly at media.
Counter-measures by threat type:
Against OC foam/PepperBall at range:
The 3M P100 Half-Face Respirator combined with splash-proof goggles provides reliable protection at ranges beyond 10m. At closer ranges, full-face seal is required.
| Distance to deployment | Recommended protection |
|---|---|
| >15m | P100 half-face + sealed goggles |
| 5-15m | Full-face respirator mandatory |
| <5m | Full-face + head protection |
Against CS gas area saturation:
CS gas crystallizes and re-activates when wet. Standard counter-protocol:
- Full-face respirator ON before entering the gas cloud — not while in it
- Do not remove the respirator inside the gas cloud regardless of discomfort
- Exit upwind; if no upwind exit is available, move perpendicular to wind direction
- Once clear: remove goggles, flush eyes with eyewash solution from the Civil Defense Bundle
- Remove all outer garments. CS persists on fabric and can re-expose you and others.
DIY respirator seal check: Put on the half-face respirator, cover the inlet with your palms, and inhale sharply. If you feel no air, the seal is correct. Facial hair breaks the seal — shave the sealing area or upgrade to full-face.
Against 40mm direct-fire rounds:
40mm foam baton rounds fired directly are capable of fracturing bone at under 30m. No practical civilian protection exists for a round targeted at the face or head beyond not being in line-of-sight. Helmet use is increasingly common among front-line protesters.
Head protection options:
- Bicycle helmet: ANSI Z89.1 rated; effective against glancing impacts and peripheral strikes
- Motorcycle helmet: superior protection; reduces visibility and heat management
- Construction hardhat (ANSI Z89.1 Type II): rated for lateral impact; inexpensive and low-profile
The Tactical Inflatable Suit was documented in Portland to deflect glancing 40mm rounds and bean bag shots — the inflated volume absorbs and distributes the impact energy.
Threat 3: Chemical Agents — The Full Exposure Cycle
Portland protesters over 2020-2025 experienced the full range of chemical agent deployments in a single 24-hour period during peak federal-local joint operations:
- Pre-deployment CS gas to disperse stationary crowds before approaching police lines
- Direct OC spray at the frontline during physical contact
- Sting-Ball grenades with OC fill dropped into crowd retreating from frontline
- CS area saturation via vehicle-mounted Skat Shell as egress routes were cut
The 24-hour kit (Portland tested):
Based on accounts from Cascadia Mutual Aid Network and street medic training resources:
| Item | Purpose | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 3M Full-Face Respirator | CS gas + OC vapor + aerosol protection | Site product |
| 2× OC-certified cartridges | Respirator refill for extended deployment | Hardware store |
| 2× Eyewash bottles | Eye decontamination post-exposure | Civil Defense Bundle |
| Sealed gallon zip-lock bag | Contaminated garment isolation | Hardware store |
| Full outer shell (disposable) | CS absorption layer; remove and bag after exposure | Thrift store |
| Chemical-resistant nitrile gloves | Hand protection when handling contaminated items | Hardware store |
| Milk of Magnesia spray bottle | Skin decontamination for OC (antacid neutralizes capsaicin) | Pharmacy |
DIY decontamination spray:
1:1 solution of water and alcohol (isopropyl 70%)
+ 0.5 tsp dish soap (breaks oil-based OC carrier)
Apply to skin after exposure, then rinse with water.Note: do not apply to eyes. Eyes: saline flush only.
Threat 4: Cell Phone Tracking — Portland Federal Deployment
What was used:
DHS OIG Report OIG-20-75 confirmed that federal agents deployed: IMSI catchers (confirmed Stingray-class), social media monitoring via Babel Street analytics platform, and cell-site simulator triangulation to identify organizers.
The Intercept reported that DHS collected “intelligence” on protest organizers including journalists and legal observers, using a monitoring platform that scraped Telegram, Twitter/X, and Facebook in real time.
A geofence warrant issued to Google for the Portland protest area in July 2020 returned over 1,000 device identifiers. Law enforcement then cross-referenced these identifiers against Google account information to generate suspect lists.
Counter-measures:
| Threat | Counter-measure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| IMSI catcher | Faraday pouch — phone inside | Only solution; airplane mode insufficient |
| Geofence warrant | Leave primary phone at home | If phone is home, it cannot be placed at the protest |
| Social media surveillance | Separate protest account; VPN + Tor | Do not use identity-linked accounts near protest activity |
| Babel Street social monitoring | Signal for communications; Matrix/Element for group channels | E2E encrypted; Babel Street cannot process encrypted content |
| Face-linked to phone data | Burner device; no Google account | Google account linkage de-anonymizes geofence results |
IMSI catcher detection:
The RF Signal Detector Pro can detect anomalous signal patterns consistent with a Stingray: unexplained GSM downgrade signals and elevated signal strength at 851-894 MHz. Not definitive, but provides awareness of potential IMSI catcher proximity.
Phone operational protocol for Portland (2025):
- Leave primary phone powered off at home
- Carry a pre-paid, non-Google-account secondary device in the Faraday pouch
- The Faraday pouch remains closed during all transit to and from the demonstration
- Communicate via Signal with disappearing messages (30-minute timer)
- Do not photograph anything with a device that has location services enabled
- RF Detector Pro on carrying your person for IMSI presence warning
Threat 5: Surveillance Cameras and Post-Deployment Review
The Portland CCTV landscape:
Portland Business Alliance maintains a privately-funded camera network marketed as “Clean and Safe” — approximately 110 cameras across the downtown core. These cameras have been disclosed in public-records releases to be accessible to PPB via a data-sharing agreement without individual warrant issuance.
Additionally, TriMet’s light rail and bus network maintains HD cameras on vehicles and platforms — frequently used to establish transit routes and companions of protest participants during post-event investigations.
Documented prosecution pathway:
Portland federal prosecutions from 2020-2022 used this evidence chain:
- Clean & Safe downtown camera footage → initial identification of gathering participant
- TriMet footage → establishing transit route taken post-protest
- Geofence data from Google → linking a Google account to the phone of the identified person
- Google account subscriber data → legal identity confirmed
Counter-measures:
- Adversarial pattern clothing throughout the day, including transit
- No transit on TriMet using a linked Hop Fastpass card — use cash or anonymous fare
- Walk last mile in a direction away from home address before changing routing
- Social media blackout for 72 hours post-demonstration: do not post identification-linked content
Threat 6: Physical Attack and Crowd Control
Portland-specific deployment:
PPB and federal CBP agents in Portland used:
- Physical grab-and-extract: plainclothes federal agents documented apprehending individuals from the edge of crowds and loading them into unmarked vehicles without identification — confirmed via subsequent DOJ filings
- Horse-mounted units: used to physically compress crowds; cannot be effective against inflatable suits
- Police baton: riot control, offensive and defensive use
Counter-measures:
- Buddy system: minimum two-person operation, one designated to document badge numbers (which federal agents were found not to be displaying — photograph agents to document appearance)
- Tactical Inflatable Suit: the Portland pepper spray frog video established the inflatable suit as an effective tactical tool against grab-and-extract — impossible to grip, physically impossible to handcuff without deflation
- Unbreakable® Telescopic Umbrella: compact, 220-lb capable, legal rain cover that functions as a defensive implement. The telescopic version fits in a backpack.
- Disbanding protocol: if plainclothes extraction is occurring at the edge of the crowd, move toward the center and disperse as a group toward multiple routes simultaneously — fragment the crowd for Federal extraction to track
DIY Builds for Portland Conditions
Build 1: DIY CS/OC Mask Upgrade
Standard N95 masks, modified with activated carbon pre-filters (available from grow stores, rated for chemical vapor removal), provide approximately 60% CS gas filtration — a significant improvement over unmodified N95 at a fraction of the cost of a dedicated respirator. Not a replacement for the 3M P100 in high-exposure environments.
Materials: N95 mask, activated carbon insert (20mm diameter), craft knife, medical tape.
Full build guide available in DIY section →
Build 2: DIY IR Hoodie
The DIY IR Hoodie Kit contains 12× high-power 940nm IR LEDs, resistors, and wiring. Sewn into a standard hoodie hood, the LEDs overexpose camera sensors under night-vision (IR illuminated) conditions — producing a “halo of light” that obscures the face on video footage.
Portland context: Federal agents deployed portable IR floodlights for night operations. The IR hoodie turns this against the surveillance system — the more IR illumination, the stronger the overexposure effect.
Build time: 3-4 hours. Full parts list and schematic included with kit →
Build 3: RF Detection Probe
For those with basic electronics skills, Software Defined Radio (SDR) dongles (~$25 on Amazon) with SDR-Sharp software can scan for IMSI catcher signals in real time. The RF Detector Pro performs the same function in a handheld consumer package without requiring technical setup.
DIY SDR: RTL-SDR dongle + SDR# software + bias-T enabled antenna. Monitor 851-894 MHz (GSM 850 downlink) for anomalous power levels.
Recommended Kit List (Portland Context)
Tier 1 — Essential:
- 3M Full-Face Respirator — full chemical + eye protection
- Faraday phone pouch — geofence and IMSI protection
- Sealed ANSI Z87.1 goggles (included in Civil Defense Bundle)
Tier 2 — Recommended:
- Civil Defense Bundle — complete first aid + eyewash + protection kit (35+ items)
- DIY IR Hoodie Kit — active IR night-vision defeat
- Tactical Inflatable Suit — crowd apprehension resistance
Tier 3 — Situational:
- RF Signal Detector Pro — IMSI catcher detection
- Unbreakable® Telescopic Umbrella — compact defensive tool
- Cap_able Adversarial Hoodie — AI camera countermeasure
Sources: DHS OIG Report OIG-20-75; CBP MQ-9 ADS-B flight records via BuzzFeed News (2020); ProPublica non-lethal weapons reporting; ACLU-OR litigation documents; Cascadia Mutual Aid Network street medic protocols; The Intercept DHS monitoring reporting (2020); EFF geofence warrant documentation; Oregon Public Broadcasting protest coverage.
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