In the wee hours of Saturday morning, vandals and arsonists targeted an administrative building for Portland Public Schools (PPS), setting vehicles on fire, smashing windows, and spray-painting the walls. The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) is investigating the attack. The Oregonian published photos of the vandalism and The Post Millennial Editor-at-Large Andy Ngo identified an antifa symbol.
Firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the PPS administration building at 3:15 a.m. Saturday, the police department reported. When they arrived, a large box truck and two cargo vans had gone up in flames. The firefighters put out the blaze without sustaining any injuries.
Police reported that investigators determined the fire to be “suspicious in nature.”
“Preliminary information is that the suspect or suspects gained entry to a fenced area on the property, started the fires, and vandalized the building,” the bureau reported. An investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made.
Vandals appear to have spray-painted “No Justice, No Peace” on a wall using a stencil, as The Oregonian‘s photos revealed. They also spray-painted, “Learning [heart] not school.” The “a” in “Learning” displayed an A with a circle around it — an anarchist symbol often used by antifa agitators.
“The Portland Public Schools headquarters was severely damaged in an arson attack. One of the graffiti messages repeats a BLM-Antifa mantra. An anarchist symbol was also sprayed on the building,” Ngo tweeted with a picture of the dilapidated box truck.
“It looks likely the large arson attack on Portland Public Schools may be antifa-connected,” Ngo argued. “Antifa groups had called for terrorist attacks on Saturday, & schools in particular had been explicitly stated as targets for months.”
Ngo shared a photo of a tweet from the Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front, an antifa group, declaring, “Youth Liberation: Burn the Schools and Destroy the Media!”
It looks likely the large arson attack on Portland Public Schools (@PPSConnect) may be antifa-connected. #Antifa groups had called for terrorist attacks on Saturday, & schools in particular had been explicitly stated as targets for months. https://t.co/iY0fVHlNjP pic.twitter.com/UgRZT9kTSr
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) March 7, 2021
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Portland Public Schools Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero shared an image of the box truck on Twitter and thanked the firefighters for extinguishing the blaze.
I want to thank the Portland Fire Bureau @PDXFire for their quick response in effectively containing what could have been further destruction. Thank you also to our dedicated @PPSConnect security, custodial, & facilities teams for addressing all of the property damage. pic.twitter.com/5RHPArlLIc
— Guadalupe Guerrero (@Super_GGuerrero) March 7, 2021
“While I am relieved that no one was hurt and there was no further damage to the building, this malicious act of arson and property destruction last night was criminal and it has no place in our community,” Guerrero said in a statement on Saturday.
“This act of violence will not deter us from our commitment to educating our students, providing them meals, or any of the other work we are privileged to carry out every day in support of our students and families,” Guerrero added.
A statement from @Super_GGuerrero regarding destruction, including vehicles set on fire, at our central administration office building. pic.twitter.com/2a53sWlpZe
— Portland Public Schools (@PPSConnect) March 6, 2021
Tyler O’Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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