Hundreds of Portlanders took their bikes out and their clothes off Sunday in a protest against President Donald Trump’s plan to send the National Guard to the city.

Though it was a chilly autumn day, and at times pouring rain, the weather didn’t stop cyclists from riding across the city for the ”emergency” World Naked Bike Ride — an event that usually occurs one night a year in the summer to protest car culture and the use of fossil fuels.

People arrived in all sorts of costumes. Some dressed as characters from the film Beetlejuice or David S. Pumpkin from a Saturday Night Live skit played by Tom Hanks. Other people had clown makeup, others only wore shorts.

Some were fully naked, but most wore some sort of clothes to keep warm. In Oregon, full nudity is protected free speech for public demonstrations.

Millie Phillips drove by herself nearly an hour from Cascade Locks to participate. She said she was moved to come in protest against the narrative the city is “war ravaged”.

“We are not a riot state, we are not having riots, it has been totally blown out of proportion. I really don’t like what’s going on seeing ICE spraying the crowds with pepper spray when they’re protesting peacefully,” Phillips said. “And that really bothers me, which is one of the reasons I’m here.”

Other people said this event represented the true Portland.

“Since Portland is allegedly on fire and burning down and it’s like a war zone I figured the best way we could show who we really are is by expressing ourselves completely and being naked is a wonderful way of saying F-you,” said Desiree Argento.

Still others wanted to come for the cause and also to have a good time.

“It just sounded fun. I lived in Maui for several years and I went to a nudie beach all the time, so it’s not a big deal,” said Chuck Bloom.

Sunday’s naked bike ride was the latest in a series of demonstrations since the president first announced he’d send the National Guard to Portland. In that speech on Sep. 27, he said the guard would handle “domestic terrorists” in “war ravaged” Portland and protect the U.S. Immigration and and Customs Enforcement facility on Southwest Macadam Avenue.

That deployment is on hold, at least for now, under a temporary restraining order that a three-judge federal appeals court panel could ultimately rescind.

Protests in front of the facility have mostly stayed confined to a single city block. At times, federal enforcement officials have shot pepper balls at protesters and deployed tear gas into crowds.

But demonstrations have largely been relatively peaceful, albeit rowdy, with some demonstrators dressing in inflatable costumes or adult-sized pajamas. On many days, people dressed as frogs, chickens and whimsical creatures have danced to hip hop, shouted chants, or sung along to Broadway musicals.

Sunday’s bike riders got their start at the Oregon Convention Center Plaza in Northeast Portland. Shortly after the ride began, they headed to the Burnside Bridge to stage a brief “die-in” – where people lay on the ground in protest.

The route also took them by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement South Portland facility, where participants stopped and blocked the street in front of the building.

Some riders stayed behind to continue protesting there, while others kept going.

At the ICE building, protesters chanted and held signs in opposition to the immigration agency and the National Guard. Federal law enforcement officers began shooting pepper balls at the crowd and later came out of the building to push demonstrators away from the structure.

They eventually arrested at least four people, though it’s not clear if those arrested were with the naked bicycle ride group.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/12/portland-cyclist-naked-protest-ice-national-guard-deployment/