Gibson was born in
Clark County, Washington to an
Irish father and
Japanese mother.[4][5] He grew up in
Camas, Washington[6] with two siblings in a Catholic household.[4] He played high school football and was a quarterback before he "got in trouble with the law."[3] After pleading guilty to a felony theft charge in 2002, Gibson was barred from owning a gun until 2015, when he petitioned Clark County to restore access.[7] He spent some time in jail and then was homeless living in Portland, Seattle, Mexico, and Hawaii.[3] He worked as a football coach at Skyridge Middle School and earned his
GED.[3] Gibson went on to earn a degree in psychology from
Central Washington University.[4]
Activism
In 2016, Gibson founded the
far-right[8] group
Patriot Prayer.[9][5] Gibson was motivated to become an activist after he viewed TV coverage of a June 2, 2016, Trump rally in
San Jose, California, where protests turned to brawling.[10] At his early rallies, Gibson was known to wear a "Hillary for Prison" T-shirt.[11]
During a March 2018, campaign rally in
Spokane Valley, Washington, Gibson expressed opposition to
Antifa, which frequently protest at his events, and stated regarding
white nationalists that "I would say the same thing to them that I would say to any black nationalist or Mexican nationalists [sic] group, we have to drop the identity of politics and focus on what is on the inside."[16] He has said
freedom of speech is a central element to his platform. Gibson's views have been described as "a complicated muddle" by the Inlander and "basically
Alex Jones meets
Bernie Sanders" by The Stranger.[17][18] The
Proud Boys, another far-right group,[19] have also been present at several of Gibson's events.[20][21]
In February 2019, Willamette Week reported that a Portland police lieutenant kept in close touch with Gibson, passing on to him intelligence about the anti-fascist movement in the city, and also advised him on how a Patriot Prayer member could avoid being arrested.[22] Portland's
Independent Police Review investigated and cleared the officer because he was gathering information on the groups and trying to defuse potential clashes with his advice.[23]
On September 4, 2020
Facebook removed Gibson's page, along with the page for Patriot Prayer, as part of its "ongoing efforts to remove violent social militias from our platforms".[24][25] The company's action followed escalating tensions related to
protests in Portland, Oregon,[26] as the city continued to experience demonstrations related to the May 2020
murder of George Floyd.
Gibson was one of six men accused of inciting a riot between Patriot Prayer and Antifa on
May Day 2019 in Northeast Portland outside of the bar
Cider Riot.[30] He was indicted for felony riot by the
Multnomah County District Attorney on August 15, 2019.[31] Gibson pleaded not guilty to the charge.[30] In an appearance on the
Lars Larson show, Gibson said he was being unfairly targeted and stated "I was on a sidewalk recording, no different than
Andy Ngo."[32]
A Portland police detective said Gibson could be seen in a video taunting and threatening members of Antifa and later pushing a woman before she was hit with a baton and knocked unconscious by someone else.[30] During the brawl, the woman had her vertebrae broken.[33][34] Cider Riot's owner sued Gibson and associates for $1 million for their actions.[35] On September 11, 2020, Gibson filed a federal lawsuit against Multnomah County's district attorney, alleging selective prosecution based on political beliefs.[30] A federal judge threw out his lawsuit in February 2021, partly because the court did not have jurisdiction due to the ongoing state court proceedings.[36]
In July 2022, the trial judge acquitted Gibson of felony riot charges and rebuked the district attorney's office for pursuing a trial on the evidence presented.[37] Based on the prosecution video of Gibson taunting Antifa protestors, the judge ruled that Gibson's activity amounted to speech, and Oregon law prohibited considering speech in deciding riot cases.[37] Gibson sued Portland and Multnomah County officials for malicious prosecution in June 2023, seeking $100 million.[38]
Gibson expressed support for a pathway to citizenship for non-criminal undocumented immigrants, decriminalization of
marijuana, and
same-sex marriage.[49] Gibson has advocated for the establishment of
term limits for the U.S. Congress, for implementation of a national
sales tax, and for abolition of the
Internal Revenue Service.[17] He expressed opposition for what he describes as the undue influence of the
pharmaceutical industry on healthcare in the United States.[44]
^Nichols, William Bradford (January–February 2019).
"What PATRIOT PRAYER is Praying For". The Humanist. 79 (1): 23+. Retrieved September 12, 2021 – via Gale Academic OneFile.
^Labash, Matt (September 1, 2017).
"A Beating in Berkeley". The Weekly Standard. Archived from
the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017.