PORTLAND — Oregon elected leaders condemned a resurgence of right-wing groups demonstrating in Portland — and the often violent confrontations they provoke among some of the city’s left-wing activists — as the rival political factions plan for another potential showdown later this month.

“The threat and use of violence against people and the destruction of property to further bigoted political or social objectives undermines our growing commitment to a truly inclusive community,” the leaders wrote in a letter released Friday and signed by Gov. Kate Brown, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury and Metro President Lynn Peterson.

“That is why we loudly reject violent anti-democratic incursions seeking to use Portland as a national stage to instill fear and promote bias violence in our city and beyond.”

The statement comes days after out-of-town far-right activists and self-described anti-fascist counterprotesters brawled with bear spray, air soft rifles and paintball guns in downtown Portland over the first full weekend of August. The volatile episode, which did not draw a response from police, garnered national headlines after video captured one right-wing militant wandering through city streets with a replica assault rifle, at one point leveling the weapon at a journalist.

Police on Thursday, Aug. 12, arrested the man, Mark Lee, 23, and booked him in the Multnomah County jail on three counts of menacing and one count of second-degree disorderly conduct.

Right-wing activists also promoted a demonstration outside the southeast Portland home of Kafoury on Friday evening. Flyers promoting the event blamed the county chair for the Portland area’s homelessness crisis, increases in crime and for the county’s coronavirus restrictions, including the reinstatement of mask mandates.

“We have had enough,” the flyer says. “We are not complying.”

About 20 people showed up for the demonstration; one pitched a tent outside Kafoury’s home, and another waved an Infowars flag.

Some of the right-wing protesters confronted bystanders and counterdemonstrators who were wearing masks. Some of those people responded by noting how easy it is to wear a mask. The demonstration remained largely uneventful as of early evening.

Meanwhile, right- and left-wing groups are each organizing their own demonstrations Aug. 22 at Portland’s Tom McCall Waterfront Park that could draw hundreds of participants.