Emergency medical flights to Portland hospital diverted over danger from Antifa 'laser party' targeting ICE facility

A trauma hospital in Portland was forced to have its air ambulances rerouted over the weekend after Antifa agitators organized an effort to point lasers into the sky to disrupt federal helicopters flying over south Portland near a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.

Rose City Counter-Info, a self-described "anarchist counter-info platform in so-called Portland, Oregon," posted an online flier calling for participants to take part in a “laser tag” event targeting federal aircraft. The post encouraged participants to wear masks, conceal their identities, wear gloves, and clean laser pointers with alcohol to remove DNA traces before disposing of them.

The flyer stated, "Every night for weeks we are forced to listen to the threatening rhythm of helicopter blades as the federal regime spies on us. The only limit power knows is our refusal to submit. This Saturday, October 11th, at 9pm you are invited to fight back. All you need is a laser. Leave home - they can see where the laser is coming from. Go to a park, a field, or some other public place, and once the clock strikes 9 unleash your beam at the cop copter. Mask up. Coordinate with friends to throw a laser party."

The flyer added, "let’s take back the night together! It won’t take many of us to ground the helicopters!"

Because of the activity, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) said that several air ambulance providers refused to land at the hospital’s rooftop helipad on Saturday, according to KGW. Instead, the air ambulance vendors diverted the helicopters to nearby airports, requiring patients to be transferred to OHSU by ground ambulance, adding 45 to 60 minutes of travel time.

"For most patients, that will be an acceptable delay. However, for some sensitive situations, such as unstable trauma patients, STEMIs and strokes, the delay could have real impacts.” OHSU said in an email to KGW. The hospital told staff to "incorporate additional transit time into their decision-making," and warned the public against taking part in the “extremely dangerous” laser event.

The Portland Police Bureau told Fox News that pointing lasers at aircraft is a violation of both state and federal law and that it regularly arrests individuals for doing so. Police confirmed they were monitoring the ICE facility Saturday night and said no laser strikes were reported that evening.

The Department of Homeland Security commented on the matter, writing on X, “Aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft is a federal crime. This is incredibly dangerous for the aircraft personnel and for the public’s safety. Antifa domestic terrorists WILL NOT overrun our cities. We will bust their networks and bring every one of them to justice.”

Protests outside the ICE facility in Portland have continued for months, leading to repeated clashes between demonstrators and federal immigration agents. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem visited the facility earlier this week, where she prayed with officers amid the ongoing unrest.