The air inside Ashley’s Portland apartment was thick with tear gas swirling up from the grenades fired on the street below.

Coughing, she pulled a mask over her face, scooped up her two children and the family dog, and fled towards the hallway where smoke curled up the walls.

Outside, on the streets of Portland, Oregon, masked Antifa protesters faced off with immigration customs and enforcement (ICE) officers defending the city’s migrant detention centre.

The scene is an almost nightly occurrence that drew the attention of Donald Trump, who has signed an executive order naming the anti-fascist movement as a terrorist organisation.