Portland Mayor Calls Out Antifa as Police Continue to Resign

After yet another night of rioting, vandalism, and anarchy in what was once a great American city, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler finally denounced the Antifa thugs responsible for it.

According to the Portland Police Bureau, individuals from a crowd estimated at between 80 and 100 threw two Molotov cocktail-style firebombs at police and launched commercial-grade fireworks at the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse on December 31 at around 8:00 p.m. Officers from the Federal Protective Services, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, and the Portland police were diverted from responding to emergency calls to help quell the violence.

Rioters battered the officers with “large rocks, full-size bricks, and frozen water bottles. Some officers were targeted by paint balloons that may have been laced with a caustic substance as it caused burning to the skin. Some law enforcement officers suffered injuries, although no Portland Police officers were hurt.”

According to an employee of Standard Insurance, estimates of the damage run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Mayor Wheeler held a press conference the following day to condemn the violence, stating:

On a night when most people were spending time with loved ones in company of the people they care about, looking for hope and optimism that can come at the dawn of a new year, why would a group of largely white, young, and some middle-aged men, from all reports, destroy the livelihood of others who are struggling to get by? It’s hard for most of us to even comprehend what goes on in the heads of people who think it’s ok, or a good idea, to go on a violent rampage through the city on New Year’s Eve and during a pandemic. It’s the height of selfishness.

People who know me know that I’m a caring person, I’m an honest person, and it’s been hard for me and for others to accept the reality that there are just some people on this planet who are bent on criminal destruction, that there are some people who truly just want to watch the world burn. That’s what we’re up against here.

Wheeler then asked for federal, state, county, and local law enforcement “to convene with me to develop clear plans to address anarchist violence, both here in the city of Portland, and throughout the state. This should happen as soon as possible, even as soon as next week.” Wheeler called on the state legislature to increase penalties for repeat offenders, and demanded that individuals convicted of criminal destruction “be required to meet with the employees and owners of the businesses that they damage. These people need to hear and to understand the social and human consequences of their irresponsible actions. All of them should be required to engage in public service like litter pickup and graffiti abatement.”

Wheeler concluded:

My good faith efforts at de-escalation have been met with ongoing violence and even scorn from radical Antifa and anarchists. In response, it will be necessary to use additional tools and to push the limits of the tools we already have to bring the criminal destruction and violence to an end. Lawlessness and anarchy come at great expense and with great risk to the future of our community. It’s time to push back harder against those who are set on destroying our community and to take more risks in fighting lawlessness. In closing, once again, I condemn anyone who engages in violence or criminal destruction no matter what their ideology.

Mayor Wheeler seems to have changed his tone recently.   

Readers should not forget that after George Floyd’s death while in Minneapolis police custody in May, Mayor Wheeler called the subsequent riots a “truly extraordinary moment in our country,” even joining them at one point. He claimed that “demonstrators set the tone for peace and non-violence.” After apologizing to “protestors” for using too much tear gas on them, Wheeler declined federal assistance to help stop the rioters, blaming President Trump (a sentiment echoed by Oregon Governor Kate Brown) for the unrest:

Following Wheeler’s refusal of federal help to stop the anarchy rocking the city, the Portland police began an exodus from the force. The Portland Tribune noted December 21 that, between November 2020 and the end of January 2021, 30 officers will have resigned from the Portland Police Department. It gets worse: Records requests from other police departments suggest that “around 25 people … may be in the process of trying to get hired in other places.” 

According to Assistant Chief Michael Frome, “They’re leaving because they just don’t enjoy working here anymore.”