Amid protests of federal troops in Portland, Oregon, in October 2025, rumors circulated online that Mike Johnson, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, claimed "the most threatening thing" he'd seen in the city were "the naked bicyclers."
Users on social media platforms such as Facebook (archived), X (archived), Instagram (archived) and Reddit claimed Johnson said, "The most threatening thing I've seen yet was the naked bicyclers in Portland who were protesting ICE down there. I mean, it's getting really ugly."
Johnson was allegedly referring to a group of cyclists who protested President Donald Trump's intention to deploy federal troops to the city by riding naked through the city.
Mike Johnson decries 'naked bicyclers' in Portland as 'most threatening thing I've seen' https://t.co/qJQ1JYQqkd
— Roshan Rinaldi (@Roshan_Rinaldi) October 14, 2025
The assertion that Johnson said "the naked bicyclers in Portland" were "the most threatening thing I've seen yet" was correctly attributed.
Johnson made the statement during a news conference Oct. 14, 2025, which was available to watch in full on YouTube.
Johnson made the statement in response to a reporter's question about oversight on federal law enforcement. In the YouTube video, his response begins at 36:27:
I've not seen them [federal law enforcement] cross the line yet and we have committees that are jurisdiction who have that responsibility, but it's not risen to that level. What I've seen is the abuse of law enforcement by radical leftist activists. You know, most recently, the most threatening thing I've seen yet was the naked bicyclers in Portland who were protesting ICE down there. I mean, it's getting really ugly. They have attacked, physically assaulted officers. People have been arrested. OK? This is serious business.
The statement referred to a protest in which some participants of Portland's World Naked Bike Ride — an annual event that began in 2004 in which participants cycle naked through the city in support of environmental action, community and body positivity — convened for an "emergency edition" of the event on Oct. 12, 2025, according to The Associated Press.
Local news outlet KPTV ran a segment about the naked protest, in which a participant claimed, "We're here because we strongly believe that we do not need federal troops in Portland." We found no evidence or reporting from credible outlets that Naked Bike Ride participants had physically assaulted law enforcement, as of this writing.
The World Naked Bike Ride's social media (archived) posted a statement about the protest that read, in part:
On Sunday, October 12th, Portlanders will be riding their bikes in the nude to protest the militarization of our city, the genocide in Palestine, and the injustices of our broken and systemically cruel immigration system… We must understand that Trump targeted Portland not because he genuinely thinks our city is war-torn, but because he knows that Portland is the center of a vibrant anti-fascist movement, with dozens of orgs and thousands of individuals working together in ways that directly threaten him and the systems that brought him to power.
The World Naked Bike Ride's website said the event started with 25 riders in 2004 and eventually grew to as many as 10,000 participants in 2014, 2015 and 2019. It was not clear how many took part in the October 2025 protest.
Residents of Portland began protesting Trump's intentions to deploy the National Guard troops to the city in late September 2025, with some donning costumes while doing so. Their intention, echoed by the Naked Bike Ride statement, appeared to create a stark contrast against the Trump administration's assertions that claimed "what's happening in Portland isn't protest; it's premeditated anarchy that has scarred the city for years — leaving officers battered, citizens terrorized, and property defaced."
A federal judge temporarily blocked Trump's National Guard deployment plans in early October 2025, ruling that he "exceeded his constitutional authority."