Last night at ICE in Portland was another munition heavy night and lots of violence from federal agents.

Last night at ICE in Portland was another munition heavy night and lots of violence from federal agents. Teargas filled the neighborhood with canister after canister being shot. Green and white smoke continuously filled the air. Pepper balls shot at protesters close range. Masks ripped off so the feds could mace people. Someone else was hospitalized by the brutality of the federal agents yet again.

I know these nights are scary. I know how bad these munitions and chemicals hurt and burn in the moment and that the pain and side effects can be even worse later. It’s all around bad. The thing is though it’s already very bad and scary without making things up or falsely attributing certain munitions as something that they are not.

The green smoke (same with the red when they choose to use it) that they use at ICE here, which they also used plenty in 2020 and 2021, is just green smoke. When I say “just” I don’t mean to imply that it is good for our bodies in any way, or that it isn’t toxic, because it is. These military style smoke grenades contain heavy metals and lead salts known to cause cancer and birth defects. But people keep calling it various types of gasses that it is *not*. HC gas being a big one people have been saying is what it is and that is not true.

We don’t have to pretend this smoke is something that it’s not to draw attention to how bad this chemical warfare is. Their violence and heavy handed use of chemical weapons speaks for itself. It’s already bad enough. Every single thing they do is already bad enough.

I know the green smoke looks intense because of how vibrant the color is. But there is a huge difference, and if HC gets used again, I promise you will know. This rumor isn’t just online, it often gets spread by people on the ground before anyone else. And I don’t think there is any ill intent with people doing this, but words have meaning. Facts matter.

A lot of this misinformation started in 2020. The first time they used HC gas then, feds deployed a canister and immediately lit a green smoke grenade and set it off in front of the HC. They used the green smoke to obscure the HC gas, and when it finished going off, the feds retrieved the HC gas canister and took it while leaving the green smoke one out. They were intentionally trying to make people think that the green smoke was what was being used. they didn't want anyone to know they were using HC and so it began being attributed to the green smoke.

Footage showing the canister burning, and comparison to canisters from other nights that took place after this night, is how it was later confirmed on that night they used HC gas. HC smoke burns a dark grey color, sometimes yellowish depending on how close to the canister the smoke you’re observing is. The canisters for HC remain on fire, often with flames shooting out of the top, and the canister itself is so hot you’ll see it glowing brightly the entire time it is lit.

HC is not like other common teargas used (OC and CS) which are bad enough on their own. When I said you would know… each time I’ve been otg when HC was used, well I’m not sure I even have the words to describe how bad it was. Thick clouds of smoke all around, usually from a combination of gas and smoke. People to my left and right either vomiting or completely losing consciousness. People all around ripping their full face gas masks off for reprise from the suffocation after the chemicals penetrated their masks and destroyed their filters. People’s limp bodies being carried out by street medics all around me. There was no eye flushing, at least not in the immediate vicinity where there was still gas. Medics and people who were well enough to help others would just be trying to get as many people away and out of there as fast as possible.

These photos of the green smoke canisters are all munitions used at ICE here over the past month.