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A U.S. Navy veteran says unidentified federal agents in Portland beat him with batons and broke his arm in an unprovoked attack while video footage clearly shows protesters destroying a security fence around a courthouse and attempting to use it to barricade agents inside.
In an interview with MSNBC, Chris David, who reportedly graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, said he was disturbed by footage of federal agents arresting suspects on the streets of the riot-torn city, so he went there to “talk” to them.
Video of the encounter, which has gone viral on social media, shows David facing off with a group of men dressed in multi-cam uniforms and riot gear before one of them pushes him. Shortly afterward, another man in the group begins beating him with a baton, and eventually, he is doused with what appears to be pepper spray.
“Mr. David, as you can see, never flinched they finally sprayed him in the face,” Velshi said. “It’s kind of unbelievable. I can’t believe how you didn’t flinch. This guy had two arms on a baton and he’s hitting you in the legs and above the body are you injured?”
“Yeah, yeah. I did get injured. Principally my arm was broken, but in addition to that, I’ve got, you know, some bruising all over my body from the baton,” David, 53, responded.
He then said he wanted to talk to federal agents and ask them about their oath to the U.S. Constitution regarding so-called ‘snatch-and-grab tactics’ used to apprehend suspects on the street.
“The thing that was so upsetting was that there didn’t seem to be any recognition that as a veteran I was even going to be listened to or treated any differently than anybody else,” David told Velshi.
“And that sort of makes sense because if they’re going to gas moms, they’re going to beat up vets,” he added, in an apparent reference to an earlier scene where federal agents deployed tear gas against a “moms” group that gathered to protest their presence in Portland.
David then issued a warning of sort.
“I do think this is the test case,” he said of the Trump administration’s response to the nearly two-month-long rioting an unrest in Portland.
“I think this is supposed to be the first domino to fall. What we’re finding is that they probably were using Portland as a testing ground for rolling out in other cities, and Trump pretty much listed exactly what those cities were going to be, which are Chicago, New York, and any place that he decides he doesn’t like to see protesting happen,” he said without explanation.
The video clip broadcast by MSNBC, which allegedly was taken in front of the Hatfield Federal Courthouse, shows chaotic scenes involving demonstrators and federal agents, as tear gas wafts through the air.
Early in the clip, a woman wearing a headset and a shirt that says “CREW” appears to be giving instructions to the line of “moms,” many of whom are wearing bike helmets and other protection as if they expected confrontation.
As for the incident involving David, it’s not clear what prompted the federal officers to react the way they did. But other video taken from the Sunday protests clearly shows demonstrators becoming violent and destructive, with many actions taken directly against the federal courthouse and the agents inside.
Clips posted to social media by The Daily Caller’s Jorge Ventura, for instance, show demonstrators tearing down a security fence erected to protect the courthouse, then using portions of it to barricade federal agents inside.
And the fences are coming down in #Portland in front of the Federal Courthouse pic.twitter.com/LjBmFkdUEj
— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) July 20, 2020
Additional clips also show the fences being destroyed.
More fence is down. #MomsAreHere #blacklivesmatter #protest #pdx #portland #oregon #blm #acab #PortlandProtest #PDXprotest #PortlandPolice #Feds pic.twitter.com/BSot90jF6Z
— gare davis (@hungrybowtie) July 20, 2020
More clips from independent journalist Robert Evans show that protesters then used portions of fencing to try and barricade federal agents inside the courthouse.
https://twitter.com/IwriteOK/status/1284770707755266049
Ventura posted similar video showing the barricading and other scenes of chaos.
Crowd is now barricading Federal Courthouse doors in #Portland pic.twitter.com/hxcdxtXFsH
— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) July 20, 2020
Federal Officers clear crowd in front of the Federal Courthouse with pepper balls/flashbangs after crowd started fire on property #Portland pic.twitter.com/92Laq6mUqw
— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) July 20, 2020
The Daily Caller’s Shelby Talcott also posted barricade video.
https://twitter.com/ShelbyTalcott/status/1285125310996901888
Several people reacted negatively to the ongoing protests.
Starting a fire now that’s peaceful
— NeverSilentTrumper⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@DawgQ17) July 20, 2020
If they clear the crowd once with live leathal force they won’t have to do it for 50 nights in a row.
— Jim Ryan (@JimRyan4America) July 20, 2020
Jeez there must of been a pyro in that group of peaceful moms. 😏
— Lurch (@roesner) July 20, 2020
Identify, arrest, charge and process. Law and order. Let them experience the joy of fighting federal charges and paying for the damage they provoked. Good source of revenue for the judiciary
— carlos perez (@perezcuba94) July 20, 2020
This is no longer about Racial Injustice or “Systematic Racism”. It’s simply the urge to be destructive and destroy the country as a whole. They hate the US so much but still remain here. But when these jokers start vanishing, then people want to start crying again.
— Mr_Spandex_XD (@Mr_Spandex718) July 20, 2020
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Jon@bizpacreview.com
Jon is a staff writer for BizPac Review with 30 years' worth of reporting experience, as well as an author and U.S. Army veteran. He has a BA in political science from Ashford University and an MA in national security studies/intelligence analysis from American Military University.
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