Was it your garden-variety arsonist or an antifa terrorist exacting political retribution that caused the fire at a Portland rib restaurant owned by rapper Snoop Dogg’s uncle?
Portland Police and arson investigators confirmed this week that a November fire at Portland’s Reo’s Ribs was definitely arson. They have identified a suspect, but don’t know the motive for setting the place on fire. No arrests have been made.
The person who is seen on video starting the fire appears to be a woman with a penchant for Norwegian ski sweaters.
A Portland restaurant owner critical of antifa’s mass vandalism on Sandy Blvd. had his business burned down shortly after making the comments. Now investigators are saying the fire was an arson attack. This is the surveillance video: pic.twitter.com/4sgOdbL3GO
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) December 15, 2020
We’ve got most of the who, what, where, when, and how figured out, according to investigators. The question is why someone set Reo’s Ribs on fire, three years after it was destroyed in an accidental fire.
Two days before Reo’s was set on fire, antifa and Black Lives Matter mobs marauded through Portland’s Hawthorne and Hollywood Districts and vandalized and destroyed the store fronts of dozens of businesses.
Glass door smashed at the Wells Fargo. #koin6news #pdx #pnw #Oregon #Portland pic.twitter.com/uoZ3hXImmG
— Jennifer Dowling (@JenDowlingKoin6) November 21, 2020
This list is from just one area of town.
Theater, 4100 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Restaurant, 4100 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Discount Store, 4200 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Financial office, 4300 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti and broken glass
Labor & staffing company, 4600 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Apartment building, 4600 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Food cart, 4600 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Restaurant, 4600 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Tire & auto shop, 4500 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Insurance office, 4500 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti and broken glass
Paint store, 4400 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Insurance office, 4400 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Dance studio, 4400 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Office building, 4400 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Title company, 4400 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Bank, 4300 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti and broken glass
Grocery store, 4300 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti and broken glass
Bank, 4200 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: Graffiti and broken glass
Restaurant, 4200 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti and broken glass
Nail spa, 4100 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Pharmacy, 1800 block of NE 41st Ave, Damage: graffiti and broken glass
Bar, 4000 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Smoke shop, 4000 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Vintage clothing store, 4000 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Three unoccupied business spaces, 4000 block of NE Sandy Blvd, Damage: graffiti
Reo’s’ next door neighbor was targeted by the mob. The morning after, on November 21, Ricky Varenado, Reo’s brother, told KOIN 6 News he hoped the cops would track down the bad guys and prosecute them.
I just hope whoever is doing this, they would catch the people who’s doing it and be prosecuted for what they’ve done,” said Ricky Varenado, who works at his brother’s business, Reo’s. “I mean, because this is really a sad time of the year they are doing this, with the coronavirus epidemic that’s going on, people are having a hard time trying to make it in life and this makes it even worse.
A normal person would consider this a benign, empathetic, and obvious thing to say. In antifa-world, where reporters and videographers are targeted for “snitching” (taking news photos) and where cops’ lives don’t matter, this certainly could have been construed as going over to the dark side.
In the early hours of November 23, Reo’s was torched.
Antifa watcher Andy Ngo certainly thought there might be a connection.
Reo’s Ribs, a restaurant in Portland, was destroyed in a fire overnight. It is next to the businesses that were vandalized last week by antifa. The owner gave an interview where he was critical of that vandalism against his neighbors. pic.twitter.com/HCMlfVz6rx
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) November 24, 2020
Antifa and BLM criminals have been quite busy in Portland. Last spring, summer, and fall they preyed upon downtown and NE Portland, setting fires, looting, engaging in violent attacks and other mischief. Business owners, already on the ropes from coronavirus lockdowns, were sucker-punched by the mob.
Antifa and BLM “occupiers” currently have walled off three blocks, essentially holding a neighborhood hostage, over a house that was foreclosed on two years ago. Vandals from the occupied territory (which has armed border guards), which they call the Red House Autonomous Zone (RHAZ), are believed to be responsible for the tagging of neighborhood buildings, such as the revered Albina Head Start building.
Even more galling is the fact that state taxpayer money has gone to help support the rioters and terrorists.
Mayor Ted Wheeler has indulged the violence even as he has tweeted messages of condemnation. Little to nothing has been done to curb the violence. Indeed, it has grown worse.
Maybe Portland can call in Snoop to do something about the senseless vandalism and violence by antifa and Black Lives Matter. Portland leaders sure can’t.
Victoria Taft is the host of “The Adult in the Room Podcast With Victoria Taft” where you can hear her series on “Antifa Versus Mike Strickland.” Find it here. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Parler, MeWe, Minds @VictoriaTaft
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