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Wall of Moms Portland Mom Shot in the Head by Federal Agents During Protest

 

Norma Lewis holds a flower while forming a “wall of moms” during a Black Lives Matter protest on Monday, July 20, 2020, in Portland, Ore. (Courtesy AP Photo/Noah Berger)

 

A Portland mom has revealed she was shot in the head while protesting with the Wall of Moms group at the weekend.

Kristen Jessie-Uyanik detailed what happened in a post on Facebook, but she prefaced it by saying that Black Lives Matter “should remain at the center of every conversation” about police brutality and the deployment of federal forces to Portland.

Jessie-Uyanik, 41, said she joined the Wall of Moms for a march on Saturday that ended at the Multnomah County Justice Center in downtown Portland.

The Wall of Moms started as a small group of mothers, many dressed in yellow, shielding protesters from federal agents in Portland, but quickly became a much larger presence at demonstrations and has also since spread to other cities.

In recent days, federal agents have repeatedly clashed with crowds outside a federal courthouse they have been stationed in, firing tear gas and impact weapons to disperse crowds.

“As a 41 year old white woman with immense privilege and mother of 3 young children, I was inspired to use not only my voice, but also my body, to defend our First Amendment right to protest and send a clear message that Black lives are worth fighting for,” Jessie-Uyanik wrote alongside a picture of herself at the protest and another of her head injury.

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