Surveying the Terrible Riot Destruction in Portland, Oregon

Riot destruction in Portland, Oregon. Image via Jeff Reynolds

I went to downtown Portland, Oregon this morning around 7:30 am, long past antifa’s bedtime, to survey the damage from forty-plus nights of rioting, looting, and protests. Between businesses closed due to draconian COVID-19 lockdowns and the massive amount of property damage done by rioters, downtown Portland is nothing like the clean, vibrant, fun place it used to be. Shops, restaurants, and office buildings have shuttered. What should have been rush hour saw streets devoid of traffic, mostly due to the economic destruction wrought by Gov. Kate Brown’s lockdown orders in response to the CCP coronavirus pandemic.

Protesters and rioters have descended on downtown Portland on a nightly basis since George Floyd was murdered at the hands of the Minneapolis Police.

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Walking around the area of the besieged Justice Center, I ran into a crew from Portland Parks Bureau. They were cleaning graffiti off a monument to the Oregon Volunteer Infantry erected in 1904. They told me they show up every day at the same time to clean off the graffiti.

Riot destruction in Portland, Oregon. Image via Jeff Reynolds

Crews worked to clean up city hall as well, but none at the Multnomah County Courthouse. That building is boarded up and covered with insurgent messages such as, “STOLEN LAND,” “THESE ARE THE LIES THAT WHITES TELL YOU TO KEEP THEIR STOLEN GOODS,” and “FUCK THE COURTS TOO.”

Riot destruction in Portland, Oregon. Image via Jeff Reynolds

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Many of the messages in the ubiquitous tags included acronyms such as, “FU45”, “ACAB”, and “FTP.”

Portland Police has become more vocal as this has gone on, calling the situation unsustainable:

In a far ranging presentation Wednesday, Portland Police Bureau Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis attempted to draw a distinction between what he called “legitimate protest” and “criminal activity.”

“There’s a very big difference between protests and the kind of mayhem that we’ve seen every night,” Davis said.

At times over the past 40 nights, protests in the city against police violence and systemic racism have drawn upwards of 10,000 people, Davis said in his presentation on how the demonstrations have affected the city. Marches have often culminated at the Multnomah County Justice Center. In recent weeks, hundreds of people from across the city have continued to show up to the Justice Center nightly to protest nonviolently.

Those demonstrations have routinely ended in violence after Portland Police respond to thrown objects with impact munitions and tear gas to disperse the mostly nonviolent crowd.

In the presentation, Davis said protesters have thrown frozen water bottles and rocks at police, at times causing injuries. He declined to provide details on those injuries, citing privacy for officers.

Riot destruction in Portland, Oregon. Image via Jeff Reynolds

Portland businesses have reported an enormous price tag of at least $23 million in damage and lost business since the protests began Memorial Day weekend.

The hardest-hit location is the Multnomah County Justice Center, which contains the sheriff department, several county courts, and a detention center that houses up to 448 inmates.

Riot destruction in Portland, Oregon. Image via Jeff Reynolds

I did happen to spy a crew cleaning the outside of the Justice Center, about four stories up:

Riot destruction in Portland, Oregon. Image via Jeff Reynolds

It didn’t appear that they would make their way down to the lower levels any time soon.

Jeff Reynolds is the author of the book, “Behind the Curtain: Inside the Network of Progressive Billionaires and Their Campaign to Undermine Democracy,” available at www.WhoOwnsTheDems.com. Jeff hosts a podcast at anchor.fm/BehindTheCurtain. You can follow him on Twitter @ChargerJeff.

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