PORTLAND, OR – This morning, you woke up to find out about a murder in Portland. You saw media coverage of the violence and anarchy yet again. Did the anarchists take a night to regroup and strengthen?
For the first time in 93 days, there was no rioting this past Thursday, according to a journalist who has been reporting on the violence and destruction by Black Lives Matter and Antifa extremists.
Andy Ngo has been reporting about Portland the past three months and speculated that the rioting ceasefire may be due to reports that the FBI’s Portland branch has begun actively investigating the Black Lives Matter and Antifa extremists responsible for the rioting.
Their leaders told them to stop because it’s costing them the election.
— Tracy Beanz (@tracybeanz) August 28, 2020
On Wednesday, KOMO News reported that Portland’s FBI chief said he was shifting the agency’s resources to focus more heavily on the nightly protests in Oregon’s largest city that often ended in vandalism, clashes with local police and dozens of arrests.
Demonstrators have repeatedly vandalized police buildings, police union buildings, city and county offices and federal buildings along with setting fires, spraying graffiti and smashing windows and security cameras.
Special Agent in Charge Renn Cannon said he is pulling agents from fraud and organized crime teams to focus on “acts of violence and federal crimes” committed during nearly three months of unrest.
In an interview, Cannon said:
“We do investigate major threats of violence and federal crimes. And sometimes a major threat of violence is a cumulative threat that happens over a period of time. It starts to have a really negative impact on the community.
“Here in Portland, we’re … making the assessment that we should be trying to do a little more than we have, because the cumulative effects and the nature of the problem indicate that the community needs help.”
KOMO News reported Cannon declined to provide specific information regarding the numbers of agents being shifted to protest cases or which cases, or how many cases, the agency was investigating.
Cannon admitted to local station KGW that his agents were using social media to identify and track extremists:
“We can go and look at open source publicly posted information on the internet. We pay attention to the news just like anybody else and we pay attention to all that. This is a different environment with all the social media.
“So, if it’s publicly posted, we can take a look at it and we go through the internet. When there’s a predication, a reason to do so, we take a look and try and figure out who did the crime.”
Hey everyone, stop posting pictures of Antifa breaking the law, burning your businesses, and hurting people. They can't play dress-up as communist revolutionaries anymore if you do. https://t.co/omS4ex8joo
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) August 5, 2020
Ngo reported that some people had negative reactions to the FBI’s tweet seeking information about arson and destruction at Portland’s Justice Center on May 29. An account named PDX Shield Artisan complained on Twitter about federal authorities seeking “to prosecute BIPOC folks for breaking windows.”
BIPOC is a racist acronym invented by white liberals and used to classify anyone who is black, indigenous or a “person of color,” according to BizPacReview.
Antifa in Portland are extremely nervous after it was reported that the FBI is going to investigate the riots happening in Oregon. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/7Fi8HjCmDr
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 27, 2020
Several Black Lives Matter and Antifa extremists have sought justice by any means necessary, including using violence, yet those same people have opposed federal authorities using police tactics to bring about justice and labeled them as fascists.
Rioters want to eliminate the city’s police budget and have thrown dangerous objects at police, set fires to buildings occupied by people and vandalized to get their point across.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who supports their cause, decried the violence, saying it is counterproductive, yet has not been effective in stopping it.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump tweeted renewed calls to have Gov. Kate Brown and Wheeler call in the state’s National Guard:
“We again request Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown), the Governor of Oregon, and Mayor @TedWheeler of Portland, to call up the National Guard like should have been done 3 months ago…
“They must stop calling these anarchists and agitators ‘peaceful protestors’. Come back into the real world! The Federal Government is ready to end this problem immediately upon your request.”
…They must stop calling these anarchists and agitators “peaceful protestors”. Come back into the real world! The Federal Government is ready to end this problem immediately upon your request.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2020
Wheeler responded by letter to the president’s offer of aid:
“Dear President Trump:
“Yet again, you said you offered to aid Portland by sending in federal law enforcement to our city. On behalf of the City of Portland: No thanks.
“We don’t need your politics of division and demagoguery. Portlanders are onto you. We have already seen your reckless disregard for human life in your bumbling response to the COVID pandemic. And we know you’ve reached the conclusion that images of violence or vandalism are your only ticket to reelection.
“There is no place for looting, arson, or vandalism in our city. There is no room here for racist violence or those who wish to bring their ideology of hate into our community. Those who commit criminal acts will be apprehended and prosecuted under the law.
“Tens of thousands of Portlanders have peacefully protested and marched for the noble cause of fixing our broken criminal justice system. They are part of the proud progressive tradition of Portlanders fighting for justice – from racial justice to economic justice to environmental justice.
“When you sent the Feds to Portland last month, you made the situation far worse. Your offer to repeat that disaster is a cynical attempt to stoke fear and distract us from the real work of our city.
“In Portland, we are focused on coming together as a community to solve the serious challenges we face due to systemic racism, a global pandemic and an economic recession.
“Stay away, please.”
The letter was signed, Ted Wheeler, Mayor of Portland.
Today, I sent this letter via email to @realDonaldTrump declining his recurring offer to aid Portland by sending federal enforcement to the city. https://t.co/W85EDfriyk pic.twitter.com/CC1IWTp5k8
— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) August 28, 2020
Brown responded on Twitter to Trump’s plea, calling it “political theater” and suggested Oregon has other more important matters to focus on:
“Oregon isn’t interested in a role in your political theater, @realDonaldTrump. The @OregonGuard is focused on fighting wildfires, distributing PPE & helping with unemployment calls.
“I’d love to discuss what we actually need: financial resources, N-95 masks & testing supplies.”
Oregon isn't interested in a role in your political theater, @realDonaldTrump. The @OregonGuard is focused on fighting wildfires, distributing PPE & helping with unemployment calls. I'd love to discuss what we actually need: financial resources, N-95 masks & testing supplies. https://t.co/fmrxSbCqrv
— Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) August 25, 2020
However, a couple of minutes later, Brown also tweeted it was “time for the violence and vandalism to end”:
The day after CNN mentions the poll numbers dropping for Biden, @OregonGovBrown decides it's might be time to stop the riots.
It's just a coincidence though, right? 🤔 https://t.co/jDMWqF8RgZ— StarGazer (@StarGazerNytz) August 26, 2020
Ted Wheeler, Portland’s mayor, is what passes for a conservative there. He tries to buy legitimacy from the left by attacking Trump & standing for the “rights” of the mob, which smells weakness. Here protestors chain themselves together in his apt. building & refuse to leave. pic.twitter.com/tmmboLksOn
— Fiery but peaceful Mike (@Doranimated) August 29, 2020
Polling shows that public opinion is turning against Black Lives Matter.
Democrats need to be extremely concerned about what's happening in Wisconsin, where support for BLM has gone from +25 to +0 in 2 months. https://t.co/2wNMWoW6it
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) August 27, 2020
After noting that polling is revealing that voters are increasingly turned off by the riots across the nation, CNN’s Don Lemon conceded, “The rioting has to stop.”
CNN’s Don Lemon says that the riots across the country have to stop because it might hurt the Democrats’ chances in November:
“It’s showing up in the polling. It’s showing up in the focus groups.”pic.twitter.com/s6lea8slwr
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 26, 2020
Perhaps the rioters decided to listen to Lemon and the governor?
Oh, so you waited for CNN to tell you that riots don't play well in the polls.
Got it.
— Betsy Floss 🇺🇲 (@MamaSicilianaa) August 26, 2020
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