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Anarchists and radical left revolutionaries have long been entrenched in Portland, Oregon, but they have become especially emboldened in recent days as Democratic officials in the city all but align with them to push out federal agents in the city.
Violent protesters continue to lay siege on the city some eight weeks after the death of George Floyd, and while some in the media still call it a Black Lives Matter protest, the chaos in the streets has little to do with racial justice.
On what marked the 52nd straight night of protests, police declared a riot as radicals set the Portland Police Association building on fire.
PPA on fire. Riot declared. Sirens coming from the west. Crowd moving East. Hearing some kind of shots. pic.twitter.com/mzn594pPBa
— Tuck Woodstock (@tuckwoodstock) July 19, 2020
The PNW Youth Liberation Front has been leading demonstrations over the course of the past two months, according to Oregon Live, and the radical left group organized a protest Saturday calling for the abolition of the Portland Police Bureau.
There was an effort to mainstream events taking place, with claims that “Portlanders of all walks of life are here.”
Important to note that protests here at the justice center have recently seen a resurgence in attendance and a growth in diversity of demographics. Portlanders from all walks of life are here. #PortlandProtest #PDXprotests #FreePortland #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/uIcxVOvhOx
— Justin Yau (@PDocumentarians) July 19, 2020
Naturally, after provoking police to engage, protesters then denounce the “escalating police violence” — then again, anarchists in Portland are accustomed to being allowed to shut down city streets and pretty much do as they please while police look on.
The 'moms against police brutality' is out in front of the justice center tonight to protest escalating police violence in the streets of Portland. #PortlandProtest #PDXprotests #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/a5WE8VIk4G
— Justin Yau (@PDocumentarians) July 19, 2020
As the night wore on, the same chaos that has been seen for days took place, with the protesters clashing with police and at times even challenging them to engage.
“WE WANT THE FIGHT!” one man screams into a hole in the courthouse building here in Portland. pic.twitter.com/dip1HLogl7
— Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) July 19, 2020
Amid all the confusion, it’s difficult to tell when Portland police were engaged and when federal police in the city to protect federal property were taking action.
Flashbang goes off in mid-air, in close proximity to anti-police protesters in Portland. You can see the shockwave. https://t.co/7XKFcn9gxF
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 19, 2020
To get a feel for the insanity playing out in an American city at the hands of the hard left, at one point a woman strips naked and faces off against a line of police officers by sitting in the street and spreading her legs.
naked Athena of Portland Oregon making the cops back off protestors by stripping naked and sitting down in the street showing she has nothing to be of a threat to them so they couldn’t advance without cause ❤️❤️❤️ a queeeen pic.twitter.com/iNAHlv8lEN
— fallon (@cigsafterurex) July 18, 2020
Are you talking about her? #Portland naked and afraid. Here she is far away, Ms. Bush. She scared away a Corvette and the para-military⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ax9teZzZqZ
— Tweety Birdy⁷ 😳 🦋 (@_____Tweety____) July 19, 2020
With police being put in an impossible situation, here are some other shots from the night:
Federal agents have just exited the federal courthouse and deployed an array of crowd control agents and impact munitions. #PDXprotest #PortlandProtest #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/cc8X2A7Wfg
— Justin Yau (@PDocumentarians) July 19, 2020
Tension is ramping up. No police activity yet. The moms are still here though. #wallofmoms #portlandprotest pic.twitter.com/4PabsBbOhN
— Emily Gillespie (@emilygillespie) July 19, 2020
The majority of the crowd are peacefully chanting on the intersection of 3rd & Main. The speaker are urging the crowd to stay united and tight. #PortlandProtest #PDXprotests #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/DaxabPWNcj
— Justin Yau (@PDocumentarians) July 19, 2020
Protesters have just formed a shield phalanx on the intersection of 3rd & Salmon, facing the federal courthouse. #PortlandProtest #PDXprotests #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/tPhVGWi3AO
— Justin Yau (@PDocumentarians) July 19, 2020
Portland Police Officers charge into the crowd. The Police tackle and arrest anyone they can grab. #blacklivesmatter #protest #pdx #portland #oregon #blm #acab #PortlandProtest #PDXprotest #PortlandPolice pic.twitter.com/8doAfPkCmb
— Garrison Davis (@hungrybowtie) July 19, 2020
The scene over the weekend was predictable when Democratic leadership like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi weighed in late Friday calling federal police President Trump’s “secret army,” and “unidentified stormtroopers” in what is surely the most fantastical tweet ever by a speaker of the House.
First Amendment speech should never be met with one-sided violence from federal agents acting as Trump’s secret police, especially when unidentified. This is disgraceful behavior we would expect from a banana republic — not the government of the United States.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) July 18, 2020
This came after federal agents were seen in a video that went viral apprehending a protester. Countless Democrats, to include Portland’s hard-left mayor and both U.S. senators in Oregon denounced the incident with fanciful tales of an “occupying army” provoking violence.
With Portland police often standing down at the behest of city officials, federal agents from the U.S. Marshals Service and Department of Homeland Security were deployed to restore law and order as criminal elements tried repeatedly to burn down a federal courthouse.
Much of the media coverage of the rioting has taken a turn toward focusing on law enforcement actions against the rioters rather than on the mayhem and destruction in the street.
Scenes like the one below are quickly disseminated, with little context to what may have provoked officers to react as they did. The goal being, of course, to demonize law enforcement.
Federal police strike protester with baton, use pepper spray and tear gas outside courthouse in Portland pic.twitter.com/VX2xTVaaYq
— Zane Sparling (@PDXzane) July 19, 2020
Our photographer didn’t take this picture in Russia. Or China. Or Syria. #Portland #PortlandProtest #FederalPolice pic.twitter.com/9NRtK4aCNw
— Oak Bay Gazette📰 (@OakBayGazette) July 19, 2020
More scenes from the night that are almost certain not to make the nightly news from conservative journalist Andy Ngo, who said in a tweet: “There are two riots happening in Portland right now by Antifa and BLM. In downtown they’ve torn down the fence around the federal courthouse. In North Portland they broke into the police union hall & have set it on fire.”
Antifa rioters continue to break the wooden barriers protecting the Portland federal courthouse. They already tore apart the fencing erected around the building. Video by @FromKalen. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/3HFIsaLsgL
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) July 19, 2020
Antifa started fires in the street outside the Portland police union hall before breaking inside and setting it on fire. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/Ksw1uTp2v1
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) July 19, 2020
Antifa tear apart the heavy-duty fence around the courthouse set up earlier by federal authorities. Local politicians tell law enforcement to stay inside. When they do, antifa & BLM attack anyway. Video: @FromKalen pic.twitter.com/sj1hlYJs2e #PortlandRiots
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) July 19, 2020
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