Live shot of Luke Richter of CO Peacekeepers blocking a bus outside Craneshed Commons he says is full of people being detained by ICE

The scene is getting more tense as the drivers of two buses said to be full of people try to leave. Cops are now trying sirens and horns to disperse protesters. Chants of 'let them go'.

There's a contingent of local cops nearby who say they know as much as I do. 'It looks like government buses and some people trying to stop them'

People are talking with people on the bus, tapping the windows. It was quiet enough a second ago I could hear tapping from inside the bus

Crowd is growing

I've now talked to people whose relatives are on the buses, which have bars on the windows

Outspoken Bend city councilor Barb Campbell just arrived, edging past protesters to park her hybrid directly i. front of the second bus. 'I thought this was a great spot'

The man with the megaphone said two men are on one bus, and he knows them, and the other bus is empty. One of the men was taken from work, the other on his way home from work

ICE's guy just told me they're not 'answering any questions at this time.'

Interagency SWAT has arrived

Bend's new police chief Mike Krantz, hired from Portland Police, was sworn in three days ago. Now, there's a cop on a loudspeaker telling people to disperse, ACLU is dispatching reps to Bend and people are calling the Gov's office

Councilor Campbell said Krantz just called her and asked her to move her car parked in front of an ICE bus

Just spoke with 2 local immigration lawyers who say though people regularly get picked up in Bend in the Trump era, it's very unusual for plainclothes feds to do it out in the community. Size of the buses tells them this is probably part of larger operation

Luke Richter heard about the buses from an online contact, headed over here ... and here we are several hours later. He just told the crowd of hundreds CNN asked to use his footage tonight

3 months ago, he was driving for Door Dash, was politicized by the death of George Floyd

DA Hummel is here

Hummel says he can confirm local police were not involved in ICE's activity today, hasn't talked to Chief Krantz yet. Says Krantz is presumably in the mobile command post stationed nearby

Now the DA, councilor Campbell and other electeds/candidates are answering questions in a gaggle off the main crowd

There's free pizza and bottled water. A guy's walking around giving out sunscreen

5-6 hrs in and it's definitely taken on the feel of a Bend event what with the dogs, pot smell, people catching up, selfies ...

Speaker asks the crowd to go take care of themselves -- take a shower, eat -- bc 'we are here for the long run'

Also, we're told the men on the bus have food (military rations) and a bathroom

Chief Krantz, in a video chat just now, said BPD is only here to keep the peace and will be here 'indefinitely.' Said the SWAT team showed up (in camo with long guns) only bc backup was called and they were training nearby

Richter handing a bottle of water to one of the bus drivers earlier today. Organizers have been adamant this should be a peaceful protest

(Pic by Ryan Brennecke)

Still a sizable crowd. The detained men are now visible through the opaque bus windows. You can make out they're handcuffed

The dumpling man is here. The lawn chairs are out. No one knows what's going to happen next but the cops and protest leaders say they're staying the night

I however am not. Thanks for reading. We'll be back tomorrow, whatever happens