It was just another night in Portland. That means more Antifa riots… this time to protest the Rittenhouse verdict. But even in Portland, it seems everyone is almost as sick of Antifa riots as they are of COVID.
A crowd of almost 200 people gathered in downtown Portland outside the Multnomah County Justice Center on Friday night, following the not guilty verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial in Wisconsin.
Multnomah County authorities later declared a riot, describing a crowd that “launched urine, alcoholic beverages, water bottles and batteries at deputies.” Afterward, Portland police said the damage from the event included vandalism and a shattered police vehicle window.
At one point, several people with their faces covered attempted to keep a KATU camera crew from recording the events as they unfolded downtown. A confrontation occurred between the individuals and the TV station’s security guards. The KATU crew was uninjured but the camera was damaged.
Business as usual, but the same local Democrat forces of misgovernment condemned the riot even if they’re still not using names.
I’m going to skip the pro forma condemnation from Mayor Ted Wheeler who, after running for re-election as the pro-business candidate now hesitates to join the riots. But commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty sort of condemned the attacks.
“Yesterday was a very difficult day and another example of the two justice systems we have in America based on the color of one’s skin. I’m a child of the civil rights movement and dedicated to the practice of non-violence. People have a right to be upset, and the right to protest. Just as protestors have a right to film the police or anything occurring in public, the press has the right to film what’s occurring in public. I’m still learning the full details of what occurred last night but want to make it clear that attacking or intimidating the press is never acceptable, such as what happened to a KATU crew last night. I’m thankful to see reports the crew were uninjured and want to express my appreciation to those in the media doing their job under difficult and tense circumstances,” Hardesty said.
She couldn’t let her hatred of the police go, or even issue a specific condemnation, but from someone like Hardesty, who’s basically the riot demo, it’s progress.
Mingus Mapps had a much stronger statement. “Another night of senseless violence and vandalism. Thank you Portland Police Bureau and Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, for intervening before things got out of control. My appreciation goes out to our local journalists at KATU News for their brave reporting despite being assaulted. To those who continue to engage in unlawful destruction and political violence know this, you will not be remembered as heroes of a movement but as villains in the story of Portland’s recovery. This cannot continue. Portland deserves better.”
It’s not as pointed as his statement last year.
In one of his first public appearances since his election to the Portland City Council on Tuesday, Commissioner-elect Mingus Mapps denounced leftist protesters who vandalized the home of Commissioner Dan Ryan on Thursday night in retribution for his vote to preserve the police budget.
“This campaign of intimidation and vandalism against Commissioner Ryan must stop,” Mapps said. “Mobs have descended on his house in the middle of the night in order to intimidate him into voting the way they want. It happened again last night: A mob descended on his house, broke windows and sprayed paint on his home.”
Mapps was joined on a press call by about a dozen Black community leaders. His remarks were significant in part because they signaled a new dynamic in City Hall: A Black man will be among the most conservative members of the council, and he is wielding the language of civil rights and equity to condemn the excesses of a protest movement that also says it is seeking racial justice.
“On a personal level, I want to say something to Commissioner Ryan: I feel you,” Mapps said. “Your story reminds me of my story and it reminds me of the African American story.…I know what it’s like to wait up for the white mob to roll up on your house in the middle of the night because you have the audacity to vote or you had the audacity to hope.”
Despite all the rhetoric, not all that much has changed. The politics have shifted, but there’s still limited willpower to stop the “white mob”.
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