Looks like a bunch of people face Federal charges for their actions in Portland. They won't have a district attorney who will let them go. Feds are a different breed.
More than 70 Face Federal Charges Amid Violence in Portland
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Charles Fain Lehman - AUGUST 28, 2020 11:50 AM
Arson, damaging government property, and assaulting a federal officer are among the charges 74 people face for violence and mayhem committed in Portland, Ore., over the past three months, the Department of Justice announced Friday.
Federal authorities have arrested some 100 people in Portland since the end of May, as anti-police protests have regularly given way to what DOJ called "vandalism and destruction." Of those, 74 face federal felonies, misdemeanors, and citations.
Hundreds more have been arrested by state and local law enforcement looking to reestablish order.
"Violent agitators have hijacked any semblance of First Amendment protected activity, engaging in violent criminal acts and destruction of public safety," U.S. attorney Billy J. Williams said. "The U.S. Attorney's Office and our federal law enforcement partners are expeditiously working with local and state law enforcement to identify, arrest, and prosecute these individuals that are disrupting the rule of law in our communities and physically attacking our law enforcement officers and destroying property. Violent agitators not only delay real reform, but make our community less safe by keeping law enforcement from responding to other critical calls for service."
More than half of those charged are alleged to have assaulted a federal officer—a crime that, DOJ noted, can lead to up to 20 years in prison if done with a dangerous weapon. A further four face arson charges, some tied to protests at the federal courthouse in Portland that protesters repeatedly assaulted over several nights earlier this month. Federal arson carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, with a mandatory minimum of five.
"While the FBI supports and safeguards constitutionally protected activity and civil rights, there is no permit for assault, arson or property damage and these are not victimless crimes," Renn Cannon, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon, said. "Among the victims of violent crime are business owners, residents and individuals exercising their First Amendment rights through protests or other legitimate forms of expression."
The ongoing unrest in Portland has made the city a flashpoint in the debate over the spike in looting and violent crime that was preceded by the onset of mass protests in
at least some cities. President Donald Trump
has called on the city to re-accept federal law enforcement after they
initially withdrew from the city at the end of last month. Oregon governor Kate Brown (D.) on Tuesday
said that "it's time for the violence and vandalism to end," specifically so "Portland can focus on the important work to be done to achieve real change for racial justice."
Was doing some thinking about all this while walking this morning.
First, BLM has done itself an incredible amount of damage. They held the moral high ground briefly, until the "protests" turned into riots and crime. BLM could have been the foremost proponent of non-violence, just like Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. There's a reason these two people are in our history books.
Instead, BLM, joined by Antifa, has aided and abetted violence, arson, and looting. They continue to make outrageous demands they know will never be met. Their actions not only alienate mainstream Americans, but provide justification for any measures used against them. There's a reason so many consider Kyle Rittenhouse a hero.
BLM can no longer be taken seriously as an agent of change, which isn't good. All police departments, just like any other organization, can improve. Nonviolent engagement could have gotten some real things done. As things stand, there will be commissions, meetings, recommendations, a few token things will happen, then it's back to the previous state of affairs.
Complicit in this is the pussy-footing attitude of Democratic cities affected by violence. They have demonstrated to their people that they put the rioters' desire to raise havoc over the livelihoods and lives of the residents of the cities. This has backfired stupendously. People have had enough. Many will vote GOP in November. And for some reason you sure don't hear much "defund the police" these days. Even the enemies of America immediately called for the police after Kyle did his justice.
The "protests" and riots have set back race relations in our country greatly. Any "structural racism" will just be more covert, while still there. Still going to see employers discard resumes of people with unemployable names. Delete after seeing the name. Nothing the applicant can do about it.
One glimmer of hope in this whole mess - most people, white, black, Hispanic, Asian do get along. People of all colors work together and do business with each other. May not love each other, but the respect's there. And you see people of all colors risk their lives daily as police officers, firefighters, and in the military. BLM and Antifa don't add anything positive to America. If black lives matter, then why do BLM members keep showing everyone that they cannot act maturely enough to prove that black lives DO matter? The black people who show that black lives matter are those people who go to work every day, do the best they can, raise their families, and work in a nonviolent manner for change. That's easily respected. Same applies to every race. But BLM is a bunch of masochists. They keep disco dancing on it with golf shoes and believe anyone actually cares. They have lost the moral high ground, lost the narrative, and are on the wrong side of history.
One last bit of babble - the actions of BLM and Antifa are bacteria in the bloodstream of America. America has a tendency to take some antibiotics when there are too many bacteria. Kyle just administered the first dose. Can see more "treatments" coming up.
