A right-wing personality known for trolling elected officials at local government meetings was booted this week from Portland City Council chambers while performing a provocative spoof.
Alex Stein, a Texas-based comedian and YouTuber, showed up during the City Life Committee’s public comment period Tuesday clad in a sleeveless fleece vest and backwards baseball cap, claiming that he recently arrived in town from the Lone Star state.
“I’ll be honest with you, Portland has the cleanest and best fentanyl in the world,” he said at one point. Stein’s 90-second stunt culminated with him playing a pre-recorded hip-hop track on his cellphone while he rapped about heavy drug use.
This isn’t the first time officials at Portland City Hall have been distracted or disrupted from conducting official business, though such interruptions tend to stem from groups or individuals protesting a particular policy or action rather than provocateurs playing to an online audience.
Tuesday’s episode also is not the first time Stein has attempted to troll Portland elected leaders. In 2022, he appeared by video at a City Council meeting held virtually in which he pretended to be a methamphetamine-using Antifa member who had moved to Portland. Stein has posted a few videos in recent months of public comments he’s made in front of governing boards across the country.
Stein’s video from Portland this week has about 30,000 views on YouTube and 25,000 likes on Instagram.
Part way through the song, a City Hall security guard placed his hands on Stein and slowly led him toward the exit while the performer appeared to feign surprise over why he was being removed.
“Thank you very much for being here with us today,” said Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney, the committee’s chair. “I will just add to that in the time that’s left that we are not suggesting folks come here to use illegal drugs, but we do provide opportunity for anybody who wants to sign up and speak.”
Councilor Eric Zimmerman, another committee member, simply got up and left in the middle of the performance.
“I stepped out because I knew something was about to happen and I’m tired of City Hall giving a platform to stunts,” he told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
On Wednesday, Stein appeared at the University of Oregon campus in Eugene as the featured speaker at an event hosted by Turning Point USA, the conservative group founded by activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an appearance at a college in Utah last year.
In Eugene, Stein encouraged students and others to debate him on a host of topics. The event drew hundreds of onlookers, dozens of police officers and an array of protesters. At least three people were arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct and harassment, UO officials said.
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