Democrats led 77-year-old former President Joe Biden and 55-year-old Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) mentioned nothing about riots, violent street protests, vandalism, arson and anarchy spreading to American cities in the wake of the May 25 murder of Minneapolis resident George Floyd. Yet for almost three months, Portland’s Democrat Mayor Ted Wheeler and 47-year-old Police Chief Chuck Lovell have let so-called “peaceful protests” get out of hand, now occupying several square blocks in Oregon’s capital. Oregon’s 50-year-old Gov. Kate Brown has refused federal assistance, including the National Guard to restore order, letting demonstrators, like in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, run amok, making it impossible for local businesses to survive. Sending in Homeland Security and Immigration Customs Enforcement [ICE] agents, 74-year-old President Donald Trump tried to restore order.
Without local and state authorities cooperating, Portland has turned into an unending protest zone, not over the death of George Floyd but a place for anarchists to create maximum disruption. Portland police department has stood down, letting violent protesters on the left and the right to control the streets and the narrative. Right wing extremist groups like Proud Boys have battled for weeks against Black Lives Matter and Antifa, both demanding that Mayor Ted Wheeler de-fund the police, turning the funds over to Black Lives Matter. Portland’s Police Bureaus [PPB] has given up or told to stand down, letting protesters control the streets. Portland’s street violence portends to things to come across the U.S. where right wing groups battle Black Lives Matter and Antifa. Without police presence, Proud Boys has out-gunned Black Lives Matter and Atifa in downtown Portland.
Proud Boys organizer Alan Swinney was seen pointing a gun at BLM and Antifa protesters, while unnamed comrades hit them with fireworks, paintballs, mace, aluminum bats and other crowd control techniques. PPB announces over a loudspeaker that protesters should “self-monitor criminal activity,” essentially telling left-and-right demonstrators they’re on their own. Keeping the fires and violence going makes a great photo-op for Trump making his case against the Democrat Party. Trump’s been running on a law-and-order platform, contrasting himself with Biden and Harris, too willing to let street protests run indefinitely. Black Lives Matter continues to call for de-funding police departments around the country, now a pressing campaign issues, potentially turning voters away from Biden and Harris. Biden walks on a razor’s edge accepting the BLM agenda to de-fund the police.
More street violence makes Trump case at the Charlotte-based RNC convention now stealing the headlines for undecided voters. Democrats made their case at the DNC convention last week that Trump has lost control of the coronavirus AKA SARS CoV-2 or Covid-19 crisis and the U.S. economy. With Wall Street at or above record highs, it’s difficult to make the case that the economy’s not making a comeback from the lockdowns in April and May. Portland officials see no end in sight to violent street protests pitting BLM and Antifa against Proud Boys, Boogaloo and other right wing groups. “Each Skirmish appeared to involve willing participants and the events were not enduring in time, so officers were not deployed to intervene,” said Portland’s PPB. Letting street confrontations to continue give Trump all the TV footage he needs to make a convincing case at the RNC.
Reports of the PPB supporting Proud Boys haven’t been confirmed, despite Portland Police escorting Proud Boys out of the city after a confrontation in 2018 with Atifa and other left wing groups. Left wing groups complain that the PPB have taken sides, backing right wing groups. One of Swinney’s comrades Skylor Jenigan, who opened fire on a car missing his intended target, was arrested and charged with illegally discharging a firearm. Watching footage of violent Portland protests gives the RNC exactly what it wants for the RNC convention. Voters in battlegrounds states, especially Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, are glued to their televisions, watching what’s happening in Portland. Whether left-wing papers blame right wing extremists or not, voters see the obvious, that Portland streets are no longer safe for otherwise peaceful residents.
When “peaceful protesters” tried to burn down the federal building in Portland, Trump sent in federal agents over objections from Mayor Ted Wheller, PPB Chief Chuck Lovell and Gov. Kate Brown. Spending nearly 90 days protesting, voters can see the effect of anarchy on U.S. streets. Whatever the excuses, Portland authorities have stood down, handing the streets over to anarchists, far more interested in disrupting the status quo, not resolving violent street protests. Voters watching the RNC convention are treated with seeing left wing groups clash with ordinary citizens, no longer seeing any safety on Portland streets. Playing right into Trump’s hands, Portland’s violent street demonstrations remind voters there can be no compromise with radical groups, including BLM and Antifa. More street violence in Portland only help Trump win his argument to American voters.
