Today is Columbus Day which has been renamed “Indigenous People’s Day” in many places around the country. In preparation for today a group of Antifa in Portland planned an “Indigenous People’s Day of Rage” promising “direct action.”
Tonight the “indigenous” faction of antifa held a “day of rage” riot in Portland. They banned video recording as the criminal acts were planned ahead. They’ve toppled the statues of Roosevelt & Lincoln so far using chains. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/PkTqxeCLIj
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) October 12, 2020
The result was a bunch of destruction overnight and threats against anyone who tried to film it.
A group of protesters toppled statues of former presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln and shattered the entrance to the Oregon Historical Society in Portland’s South Park Blocks late Sunday before moving into other areas of downtown, smashing storefronts and engaging in other acts of destruction.
Police declared the event a riot and ordered people rampaging through the city’s streets to disperse but did not directly intervene until nearly an hour after the first statue fell. The crowd scattered when police cruisers flooded the area, and officers in tactical gear appeared to make several arrests…
The organizers had signaled their aggressive stance for the night, calling for “direct action” and demanding that the video live-streamers and photographers who had become staples of such events stay away.
People in the crowd were repeatedly admonished not to film. Passersby who happened upon the group were ordered by demonstrators to stop filming or delete photographs, including an apartment resident who had lasers shined at his eyes and a liquid thrown in his face as he appeared to shoot video of the scene from his terrace.
Usually these events have multiple people filming from various angles but last night there was almost no video of the criminal acts simply because the mob demanded it. In fact, most of the people who usually film these riots didn’t even try.
That Portland self-identified video journalists followed antifa instructions to not record a pre-planned violent criminal riot tonight tells you what you need to know about the previous information coming from those sources. They prioritize protecting antifa over truth.
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) October 12, 2020
The Oregonian published photos from last night showing the damage caused by the rioters but none of the photos show any people involved, only the aftermath. There are a couple of brief clips of a statue of Teddy Roosevelt being pulled down shot by someone who was part of the group:
https://twitter.com/KittyLists/status/1315519781756260353
And this one (2nd below) showing the mob celebrating. The top clip shows the Lincoln statue already on the ground:
https://twitter.com/KittyLists/status/1315530771281539072
In addition to the two statues, the rioters also did a lot of damage to the Oregon Historical Society museum:
Update: Damage to Portland Art Museum, flare thrown into building. Protesters now marching through streets. Riot declared. #PDXprotests #pdxriot #PortlandProtests #portlandriot #portland #protest #riot pic.twitter.com/DPHBt1ncrK
— Independent Media PDX (@NDpendentPDX) October 12, 2020
Wells Fargo:
Multiple businesses damaged around the downtown Portland area. Protesters plucked letters off the Wells Fargo sign and shattered the front doors with them. #PDXprotests #PortlandProtests #portlandriot #pdxriot #portland #protest #riot pic.twitter.com/ZzIm61ozNt
— Independent Media PDX (@NDpendentPDX) October 12, 2020
A jewelry store:
Multiple businesses damaged around the downtown Portland area. Ben Bridge Jewelers. #PDXprotests #PortlandProtests #portlandriot #pdxriot #portland #protest #riot pic.twitter.com/uEt7wh1YRn
— Independent Media PDX (@NDpendentPDX) October 12, 2020
Subway:
Multiple businesses damaged around the downtown Portland area. Subway. #PDXprotests #PortlandProtests #portlandriot #pdxriot #portland #protest #riot pic.twitter.com/qdMEzahoex
— Independent Media PDX (@NDpendentPDX) October 12, 2020
Jimmy Johns:
Multiple businesses damaged around the downtown Portland area. Jimmy John’s. #PDXprotests #PortlandProtests #portlandriot #pdxriot #portland #protest #riot pic.twitter.com/JH7Z9Efl7i
— Independent Media PDX (@NDpendentPDX) October 12, 2020
The rioters also smashed up the Portland State University police office, which got the attention of President Trump:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1315617492606353408
All together the rioters did a significant amount of damage last night and no one is going to be held accountable for it. Now that Antifa has seen how easy it is to demand a First Amendment free zone, they’ll be doing this more often I suspect.
Portland clearly wants this to happen. The Antifa candidate for mayor is currently running ahead of incumbent Mayor Wheeler. Wheeler is incompetent but at least he’s not a fan of Stalin and Mao. That seems like a really low bar but it looks like one Portland’s voters won’t be able to clear.
If Portland wants the city to be ruled by vandals and mobs (while also defunding police) then maybe we should just let them have what they want. At some point, when the revolutionaries are pulling people out of their homes or burning down banks, I think they’ll regret it. When that happens we can all remind them there is no one else to blame. Some people clearly need to learn some lessons of history the hard way.
Here’s a report from KOIN6 that really gives a sense of where the statues were located relative to one another and to the historical society.
Update: I missed this earlier. One of the people who regularly films these riots offered an excuse for not doing so last night: “Why burn bridges for a few videos? Reporters aren’t police. And it’s not like the statues were alive.”
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) October 12, 2020
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