A couple of men on the far-right held an “End Domestic Terrorism” rally in Portland, Oregon on Saturday. As expected, the violent left-wing group Antifa showed up to counter protest. Ironically, the protest was about stopping their violent counter protests. Dressed in black, some wearing masks, Antifa struck at the windows of buses carrying people on the right, sprayed pepper spray at them and tried to drag them out of the bus using a hammer. They broke a window on one of the buses. At one point, they chased a man and a young girl dressed in flag clothing who had become separated from the others. The man likely angered them because he didn’t fit their false stereotype of those on the right as white supremacists; he wore a shirt that said “I hate the left n racism.” They also threw sticky stuff at a man carrying an American flag.
Police seized metal poles, bear spray and other weapons from Antifa. They set up concrete barriers and closed streets and bridges in order to separate the two factions. Many downtown businesses closed for the day. Shortly after 4 p.m., police declared the rally and counter protest a civil disturbance due to crowds blocking the streets.
Portland has become a hotbed for right-leaning rallies clashing with Antifa. President Trump tweeted on Saturday, “Major consideration is being given to naming ANTIFA an ‘ORGANIZATION OF TERROR.’ Portland is being watched very closely. Hopefully the Mayor will be able to properly do his job!”
By the time the right-leaning attendees started to leave, police had arrested at least 13 people. One protester who was arrested was bleeding from the head. The arrests during these types of rallies have disproportionately been of those on the right, even though they’ve primarily been in defensive mode and don’t threaten the police like Antifa does. One police officer was injured and taken to the hospital. Antifa hurled ethnic slurs at the police.
The lack of fairness by police may be because the police chief is appointed by the mayor of Portland, who is a far leftist (some may remember the TV series Portlandia, which made fun of how far left the mayor at that time was).
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Joey Gibson, a minority who founded and led similar Patriot Prayer rallies, was arrested Friday before the rally for rioting in connection with a violent clash in Portland on May 1. He was released after posting bail. Gibson advised those attending the rally to avoid engaging in violence. "Force them to arrest you for being peaceful," he said.
Antifa beat up conservative journalist Andy Ngo at a similar rally on June 29. He was hospitalized with a brain hemorrhage. Police did not arrest the men who beat him up. He’s been forced to raise money to initiate a legal suit himself. Ngo is Asian and gay which makes the lefty extra angry, since he doesn’t fit in with their false mantra about people on the right being racist and white. He tweeted, “Police arrest a few here and there while antifa factions chase down the few right-wing stragglers and try to mob beat them.”
The Proud Boys and Three Percenters military group were in attendance. The Proud Boys have been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, but the SPLC has also designated organizations like the Alliance Defending Freedom as a hate group, so the characterization is almost meaningless.
Incidentally, one of the organizations that attends these types of rallies, Oath Keepers, decided not to show up because they were concerned organizers hadn’t done enough to deter white supremacists from showing up. Despite the fact that most attendees are just regular Americans, there is a fringe element that is attracted to the rallies and the left loves to lump them in with everyone else on the right.
Antifa claims to oppose white supremacists, but they are almost completely composed of whites themselves — mostly young white men. If the organization is so opposed to white supremacy, wouldn’t there be a significant number of minorities in the movement? Similarly, if those organizing and showing up at the right-leaning rallies are white supremacists, then why are there plenty of minorities appearing with them? Especially the actual organizer of many of these rallies, Joey Gibson?
At one point, a black man praised Jesus on a bullhorn. A shirtless black man (the only minority I noticed among Antifa and its allies in the videos) screamed profanity at him and called him an Uncle Tom. Ngo said he recognized him from another Antifa protest in Seattle, where the guy walked up to him and said “Death is coming.” Surrounded by white people supporting him, the shirtless man got frustrated and criticized their support of him since they were white. Police finally arrested him. The Antifa-backed mob predictably claimed the arrest was police bias.
Antifa or some person on the left chanted when they saw a group of people carrying American flags — including one carrying an American flag with a rainbow, the symbol for LGBT which doesn’t fit the stereotype that the left portrays, that LGBT isn’t patriotic — “No Trump, no KKK.” But there is zero evidence that Trump supports the KKK.
Antifa claims to oppose fascism; its name is a shortened version of anti-fascism — but it uses fascist tactics to silence opponents. Consequently, it is frequently said to mean anti-First Amendment.
Antifa revels in accusing those on the right of white supremacy. But it is exacerbating racial tensions by falsely accusing the right of white supremacy. The reality is, white supremacists make up a very small portion of society, and are frequently found on the left, supporting big government programs.
Antifa is clearly not going to stop until more people are injured. They don’t respect the First Amendment, which protects free speech, not violence. Their approach is leading to anarchy and the destruction of a civilized democracy. But try to find Democrats who will denounce Antifa. Hardly any of them will, because Antifa has become a militarized wing of the Democratic Party. Just like the Ku Klux Klan was an extension of the Democratic Party back in the era of Jim Crow.
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