A clarinet player whose arrest at a protest was caught on national television last October was sentenced to time served and a year of supervised release on Tuesday.

The decision by U.S. Magistrate Judge Youlee Yim You came weeks after Oriana Korol, 39, pleaded down from felony charges to a misdemeanor charge of assaulting a federal officer.

Her attorneys released videos ahead of her court appearance in the hopes of swaying the judge for the lightest possible sentence. In their view, the videos showed the arresting officers subjected Korol to “cruel and abusive conduct.”

Korol told OPB she felt bittersweet about the judge’s decision. She said she was ready to move on after nearly a year fighting in courtrooms.

“I’m feeling a mixture of relief that it’s finally over, some sadness that the court still thinks that I need to be supervised, but I’m also really grateful,” Korol said.

Korol’s misdemeanor conviction, according to her attorneys, could have also included a $4,000 fine, as recommended by the U.S. Probation Office. Statutorily, her attorneys said, Judge You also could have sentenced her up to a year behind bars.

“I’ve learned a lot these 10 months, and I’m really grateful to everyone who has been with me,” Korol said. “It’s overwhelming.”

Dozens packed the courthouse for the afternoon sentencing, vastly in support of the southeast Portland resident. Many welcomed the sentencing as good news.

Her father, Omar Johnson, supported Korol’s decision to take a plea deal but also considered it a “miscarriage of justice.”

“From my point of view, they did the assault. And she’s the only one who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault?” Johnson said. “To me, it’s a miscarriage of justice.”

History of the case

Korol’s trajectory through the criminal justice system spanned an arrest that was broadcast on national television, a three-day stint in an out-of-state jail, a hung jury on felony charges, and now a misdemeanor conviction.

It started with her arrival at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland on Oct. 12. At the time, national attention sharpened on the city’s persistent protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Weeks prior, the president had threatened to quell the protests by dispatching the National Guard.

The day she arrived at the South Waterfront property coincided with the “Emergency Naked Bike Ride,” which brought hundreds more activists to the scene on an otherwise dreary weekend day.

According to court filings, Korol arrived to play clarinet as part of the Unpresidented Brass Band. They played songs across the street until — around 5 p.m. — a handful of federal officers emerged from the building and reportedly chased someone in the band’s direction.

Korol, videos show, found herself in the scrum. Some federal officers sprayed chemical irritants in the vicinity, including some reportedly hitting Korol’s face and mask. At one point, she and others fell to the ground.

The Comedy Central show “The Daily Show” was present that day, filming a segment that included comedian Jordan Klepper interviewing protesters and participating in the naked bike ride. Klepper and crew also filmed Korol’s arrest.

“Musicians knocked to the ground. Pepper sprayed. A young clarinetist was arrested,” he said, voicing over clips of Korol handcuffed in the mud. “The scene was unforgettable. And we later learned she was taken out of state and held for days.”

Korol spent the next three days in jail in Clark County, Washington, her attorneys said. They wrote that Korol left the jail with exacerbated asthma symptoms, a headache and blurry vision.

Initially, the U.S. Department of Justice tried to level felony charges against Korol. Prosecutors accused her of trying to interfere with the man’s arrest. They said she kicked and bit an officer with the Federal Protective Service.

In May, a federal jury couldn’t reach a verdict on the felony charges. A judge declared a mistrial. Federal prosecutors indicated they planned to retry the case.

But in July, Korol struck a plea deal rather than return to trial. She pleaded guilty and was later convicted of a lesser misdemeanor assault charge.

According to court filings, Korol’s plea agreement stated that she did not bite or intentionally kick the officer. The filings said Korol “raised her foot while on her back on the ground” and that it then “struck (the federal officer) and put him in an apprehension of ‘immediate bodily harm.’”

Next steps

In her sentencing, Judge You said she considered the entire record in her decision — including the final videos submitted by Korol’s defense team.

The videos show federal agents confronting Korol after they detained her as she apologized again and again. The videos also suggest an officer draped her pepper spray-soaked mask across her face as she asked for it to be removed.

The video shows Korol handcuffed and walking with federal officers away on the ICE facility’s driveway towards its holding areas. She asked an officer to pull her mask down.

After the gray cloth slides off for a second — prompting Korol to say “thank you — an officer then pulls it back up over her face completely.

“No, no, no, what are you doing? I’m going to have an asthma attack,” Korol said. “Please pull it down.”

Another video, filmed inside the facility, showed officers yelling and cussing at Korol. As they sat her down, she apologized and asked for them to direct her. An officer then accused her of biting him on the arm.

“You’re f—ing sorry?” the officer yelled. “Now you’re f—ing sorry?!”

When another person in custody told the officer to calm down, another officer interjected and told him to “shut the f— up.”

Korol said after the sentencing Tuesday that she felt she could begin thinking about her future again. In court filings, she and her attorneys raised that Korol and her partner have a young daughter and she is helping care for her aging family.

“Ever since I took this plea deal, I’ve felt my future opening again. The uncertainty is over. And I’ll be able to return to my family and keep working in my community,” Korol said.

Meanwhile, her arrest and conviction have led state regulators to review her license as a social worker. The timetable for that remained unclear.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/09/01/clarinet-player-arrested-at-portland-ice-protest-sentenced-to-one-year-supervised-release/