A Portland protester who now-famously faced off with police earlier this month and earned the nickname "Naked Athena" has opened up about the event.
In an interview with a Portland-based podcast, the woman identified herself as a sex worker in her 30s and said that being naked in public is a common part of her life, the local newspaper Willamette Week reported on Sunday.
"I am notoriously naked," the woman, who identifies herself only as "Jen", said on the podcast Unrefined Sophisticates.
In footage and videos of the incident, Jen can be seen moving between the protesters and police wearing nothing but a hat and a facemask.
She said her naked protest was "really calm and terrifying at the same time."
"It's like being in the eye of the storm."
Jen said she felt "provoked and fired up" when she saw the officers standing "like they're warriors, and they're not."
"This fury arose in me… and I said I want to be naked, I want to confront them," she said on the podcast.
"I'm a sex worker. My nakedness is political and it is my expression."
She was with her partner who said "I'll hold your clothes" and she went into a doorway and "took everything off, except for my mask and my hat because it's cold," she recalled.
In footage of the incident posted to social media, Jen can be seen walking along the sidewalk before pulling what appears to be a number of ballet and yoga poses.
She said she was shot in the foot by a crowd-control projectile, which at least partly caused the unusual moves.
Discussing her new nickname, she said: "I didn't give myself that name," before admitting, "it's catchy."
Jen said that "other than my feminine response of wanting to show them what my version of vulnerability looks like," her message was: "we're all out here, these protesters, [and] the only thing we have in common is we have masks on and we're out here at night."
"None of these people have weapons. Empty their pockets, take off their clothes - nobody has weapons here," she said.
"I just wanted them to see what they're shooting at."