Portland Naked Protest: Why Hundreds of Nude Cyclists Blocked the Burnside Bridge?

Hundreds of nude and semi-nude protestors, including activists, blocked Burnside Bridge in Portland, Oregon on Sunday afternoon, October 12 (US local time). Naked people with their bicycles lay down on a road blocking vehicular traffic in a protest against President Donald Trump’s plan to send the National Guard to the city.

Despite the chilling weather and rains did not stop protesters from getting nude and riding across the city for what they called 'emergency' World Naked Bike Ride. An event that usually occurs every year on a night in the summer to protest car culture and the use of fossil fuels.

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World Naked Bike Ride Portland holds a “die in” demonstration on the Burnside Bridge pic.twitter.com/RVQoGKVvup

— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) October 13, 2025

Other climate activists and people were also seen wearing different characters from Hollywood films, including Beetlejuice or David S. Pumpkin from a Saturday Night Live skit played by Tom Hanks. Some were fully naked, others wore only shorts. In Oregon, full nudity is protected as free speech for public demonstrations. 

Why Are Nude Cyclists Protesting?

Sunday’s naked bicycle ride rally was the latest in a series of demonstrations since the president first announced that he would send the National Guard to Portland. Trump, in a speech on September 27 this year, said that the guard would handle “domestic terrorists” in “war ravaged” Portland and protect the US Immigration 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.