Gregory McKelvey

Gregory McKelvey (born March 20, 1993) is an activist, public speaker, and campaign manager. He received his undergraduate degree from Oregon State University in Political Science. Gregory was described as leading the Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, Oregon and has been the subject of extensive media coverage as an organizer of Anti-Trump protests in Portland, Oregon. McKelvey attended Southridge High School in Beaverton, Oregon where he ran on the Track team.

On September 24th 2011 McKelvey was arrested for fourth-degree assault, first-degree domestic kidnapping, strangulation and harassment after reportedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend in an Oregon State University residence hall. The charges were eventually dismissed and the court record was sealed

McKelvey first worked in politics as an intern on the 2014 campaign for Anne Schuster on the Benton County Board of Commissioners. He worked through the primary in which the candidate won beating Pat Malone. He then worked as the campaign manager for Xan Augerot in the same county. He worked through the primary in which his candidate beat the incumbent Jay Dixon. In the 2016 general election he worked as the campaign manager for James Ofsink who unsuccessfully ran for the Oregon State Senate as a third party candidate.

During the 2016 US Presidential campaign, McKelvey was a prominent advocate for Bernie Sanders. He was elected as a delegate to represent the senator at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. During the convention, he and many other delegates walked out in protest of the treatment of Bernie Sanders by the Democratic Party. He gave many speeches in support of Sanders around the state of Oregon.

Toward the end of 2016 and during the Presidential Election Campaign Gregory founded Portland Resistance an organization and movement focused on protesting Donald Trump. Portland Resistance organized Inauguration Protests and other Anti-Trump protests that have persisted into 2017. In November 2016 McKelvey was arrested at a peaceful demonstration for blocking a road. The case was subsequently dismissed.