After 100 days of arson and destruction in Portland, yet another is barely news.
Except for one thing: Cops collared a top Oregon Democrat in Saturday’s flaming riot.
Kristina Narayan isn’t just any top Democrat, though. She plays a major role in writing and passing state laws.
And the riot in which she participated featured Antifa-Black Lives Matter goons tossing firebombs at police, one of which backfired and set ablaze a rioter who is now the subject of multiple amusing videos put to music.
Works for House Speaker
Just how powerful is Narayan? She is the legislative director for the Democrat speaker of Oregon’s House of Representatives, Tina Kotek.
Cops arrested her for “interfering with a police officer” because she refused to move when cops told her to do so.
Narayan says she was there to photograph and document what she thinks are illegitimate arrests, and that she has a right to do so, and anyway, she probably didn’t hear the cops because her ears were plugged with headphones.
{modulepos inner_text_ad}
“Narayan said she thinks police view all protesters as violent and destructive, based on her observations at multiple protests,” the Oregonian reported. “She said that people who set fires or hurt other people should be held accountable, but that the majority of protest arrests are like hers — nebulous as to what protesters did wrong other than oppose police.”
Maybe standing in the middle of a full-blown street war wasn’t such a bright idea, but anyway, she told the newspaper that cops violated her rights and those of other “protesters” whom the leftist media call “mostly peaceful”:
“I believe it is my right to remain in place photographing or otherwise documenting what I consider to be unlawful and indiscriminate arrests,” Narayan said. “I am concerned that officers are intentionally stacking charges to dissuade protest and stifle freedom of expression that they view as non-compliant or disruptive.”…
The charging decision from the district attorney’s office says that Narayan was arrested for not immediately leaving the area after police declared the protest an unlawful assembly. According to the statement, she told police it was possible she hadn’t heard the declaration because she was wearing headphones in her ears.
Narayan said being arrested, transported in a crowded police van and booked at the jail subjected her to risky environments during the pandemic — and that she saw people in the highest risk categories for complications or death from coronavirus arrested and treated similarly, including Black women and other people of color. She is Pacific Islander.
Kotek supports her staffer. Apparently, she is unconcerned that Narayan was arrested at the scene of a riot where heavily armed thugs tossed firebombs at the police, the Oregonian reported: “Freedom of expression is the foundation of our democracy,” said Kotek. “Every person — including members of my staff — has the right to stand up for what they believe and engage in nonviolent resistance. Kristina’s experience is similar to what other Portlanders have experienced over the last few months. We need peace and accountability.”
The district attorney dismissed the charges.
What Happened
How much “peace and accountability” Kotek wants from the thugs trying to destroy the city we are not given to know, but we do know that Narayan’s “mostly peaceful” pals mounted yet another full-scale attack on the East Precinct.
“Many in the crowd were carrying large shields and dressed in protective gear including helmets, gas masks, body armor, and all black clothing,” police reported. “It was clear that the intent of the crowd was not peaceful protest.”
While Narayan kept an eagle eye on the cops to ensure they didn’t break the law, “individuals began throwing multiple fire bombs at officers.” One set the “mostly peaceful” protester who threw it ablaze.
Then came the usual warnings to disperse that the thugs ignored:
Individuals within the crowd began throwing illegal fireworks/mortars at officers. Others were seen throwing rocks. At least one had a “wrist-rocket” type of slingshot launching unknown objects. In order to defend themselves from these assaults, officers used crowd control munitions, including tear gas. Officers made numerous targeted arrests….
Officers moved ahead of the rioters to prevent them access. Rioters lit fires in the streets, including dumpsters, garbage cans, and wooden pallets. Officers moved in to push the crowd back in order to extinguish the fires.
Police arrested 59 people that night.
Image:screenshot from Twitter post
R. Cort Kirkwood is a long-time contributor to The New American and a former newspaper editor.
