On Monday, a pro-labor, anti-Trump May Day protest in Portland was shut down after anarchists destroyed a police car, damaged property, started fires in the street, and threw full cans of Pepsi at police—a reference to the tone-deaf #resistance ad featuring Kendall Jenner that the soda company pulled last month.
A @PDXFire medic was hit by a full @pepsi can thrown during #MayDayPDX protest march. Not injured.
— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) May 1, 2017
Rocks, lead balls and full cans of @pepsi being launched at police. Officers will be donning personal protective equipment. #MayDay2017
— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) May 1, 2017
While the Pepsi pelting was reported at around 4pm local time, the soda loomed like a bad omen hours earlier in the protest, when one anarchist attempted to hand a Pepsi to a wall of unresponsive cops.
Police took some shields from anarchists, anarchists grouped up toward cops. 1 tried to hand Pepsi to cop, unsuccessfully #Mayday #MayDayPDX pic.twitter.com/IV8nDzxLeP
— doug brown (@dougbrown8) May 1, 2017
Violence aside, the symbolism of an anarchist providing a Pepsi “peace offering” to police mocked the infamous ad in which Jenner leads a peaceful, apolitical demonstration and bridges the divide between picketers and cops by offering one officer an ice-cold soda. The ad was taken down mere days after its early April launch when critics took issue with the commercial’s illusion to Black Lives Matter and the organization’s marred relations with police.
Though Portland’s May Day protesters were encouraged to separate, the protest’s permit was revoked after the destruction persisted. Three people were arrested, and no injuries were reported.
