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Battle of Portland: Mayhem Erupts as Leftist Rioters Clash with Federal Agents

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  July 22, 2020 2:05 AM

Well, after weeks of lawlessness in liberal cities, federal law enforcement agents are moving in to restore law and order. The situation in these places has been downright chaotic. In Seattle, armed thugs seized portions of the city, which was quasi-endorsed by state and local leaders—all Democrats. In Portland, a federal courthouse had to be barricaded to prevent vandalism and other forms of destruction from these lefty mobs. Rioters actually set fire to the building. And these mayors and governors are totally aloof to the situation. Reagan covered last night how Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot demanded federal agents stay away from her city just as a horrendous shooting occurred in her city, which left over a dozen people injured at a funeral. 

These people don’t know what they’re doing. They can’t get these clowns under control, so the federal government should step in and restore some sanity here. Portland raised some eyebrows after it was reported that federal agents in unmarked vehicles were rounding up rioters. First, that was not true, but it didn’t stop House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from mouthing off, smearing these fine officers as “stormtroopers.” At the same time, let’s say it was true—I would have zero issues with it. Two words: happy hunting. U.S. Customs had to release a statement to clear the air:

"While the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) respects every American’s right to protest peacefully, violence and civil unrest will not be tolerated.  Violent anarchists have organized events in Portland over the last several weeks with willful intent to damage and destroy federal property, as well as injure federal officers and agents. These criminal actions will not be tolerated.

CBP agents had information indicating the person in the video was suspected of assaults against federal agents or destruction of federal property.  Once CBP agents approached the suspect, a large and violent mob moved towards their location.  For everyone’s safety, CBP agents quickly moved the suspect to a safer location for further questioning.  The CBP agents identified themselves and were wearing CBP insignia during the encounter. The names of the agents were not displayed due to recent doxing incidents against law enforcement personnel who serve and protect our country.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its components will continue to work tirelessly to reestablish law and order.  The Federal Protective Service (FPS) is the lead government agency that CBP personnel are supporting.  CBP personnel have been deployed to Portland in direct support of the Presidential Executive Order and the newly established DHS Protecting American Communities Task Force (PACT).  CBP law enforcement personnel have been trained and cross designated under FPS legal authority 40 U.S.C. § 1315."

So, with federal agents in the city, it’s no shocker that the leftist thugs wanted a confrontation. Well, they got one (via NBC News):

Even after tear gas choked downtown Portland in the early hours of Tuesday, Riots Ribs kept the food coming.

A volunteer, who has been camped outside the Multnomah County Justice Center since demonstrations against police brutality began more than 50 days ago, slathered barbecue sauce on the meat cooking just a few yards from federal forces trying to push back protesters.

Despite the surrounding chaos, the young woman in charge of Riot Ribs' social media account took a moment to tweet.

"Still cooking. Still being tear gassed. Still have broken ribs," the 22-year-old woman, who asked not to be identified for fear of law enforcement, wrote in her tweet. "Still feeding people 24/7."

The tweet was followed by a red heart and an orange flame.

For nearly two months, protesters have gathered in the park to march against the police-involved killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville and others. Recently, demonstrations have become increasingly heated after federal forces arrived without the consent of local leaders.

The standoff between law enforcement and protesters in the streets of downtown Portland has caused what some legal experts say could be a constitutional crisis. In the crosshairs are residents trying to assert more control over the city's police department while being somewhat ambivalent about the violence that erupts every night like clockwork.

"What's happening here is, we have dozens, if not hundreds of federal troops descending upon our city. And what they're doing is, they are sharply escalating the situation," Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said over the weekend.

Yeah, the keyword here is “leader.” Portland doesn’t have one. The mayor is a joke. We might as well be referring to sock puppets and beanie babies if we’re going to talk about the local leaders of Portland. They’re children, so the feds must and should step in to put this mob down. Crush these guys—seriously. Also, these agents are there to protect federal property that is in danger of being destroyed. These agents have also been there for quite some time (via Washington Examiner):

“It’s not an unprecedented thing," said one administration official. DHS’s Federal Protective Services officers "have been there for decades. [Wheeler] probably didn’t even know it.

Officers on-site struggled to guard the building in June as mobs of people toppled nearby statues and grew increasingly violent. DHS responded in early July by sending in its most elite law enforcement from Customs and Border Protection, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The senior administration official said that under 40 U.S. Code 1315, acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf has the authority to deputize other DHS employees to carry out other law enforcement duties.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, the courthouse was attacked with commercial-grade fireworks, and the federal employees guarding it were struck by frozen water bottles, beer bottles, frozen eggs, rocks, and bottle rockets. Following the arrest of one attacker Saturday night, agents found a pipe bomb, fused explosive device, machete, and knife on the man.

“As the scale of the threat goes up, three people can’t defend appropriately against an 800-person mob,” said a senior administration official. “That gets us to this cross-designation.”

DHS cross-designated CBP and ICE, which were then deputized by DHS to protect the building, not to respond to riots, which is the job of local police. The administration official said that its personnel are not there to retake Portland, but to maintain several federal buildings, and he cast doubt over whether Wheeler was aware of why federal agents are in town.

Brandon Farley, who’s been documenting these Left coast riots, and Elijah Schaffer of The Blaze have been sharing footage of the mayhem. Andy Ngo is also reporting on the ground. This is ridiculous, folks. Send more federal forces for all I care. Send as many as needed to restore law and order and crush this unhinged, illiberal, and violent mob.

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