Portland, Ore., Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) condemns antifa and anarchists after a night of riots in the city on New Year’s Eve.
The mayor told a news conference on New Year’s Day that protesters had damaged tens of thousands of dollars by breaking windows, starting fires and spray-painting property in downtown Portland, local KBS subsidiary KOIN reported.
Wheeler asked during his press conference: “Why would a group of largely white, young and some middle-aged men destroy the livelihoods of others struggling to get by?”
According to law enforcement, some protesters allegedly used Molotov cocktails on Thursday night, causing thousands of dollars in damage to downtown properties.
The mayor has since been in touch with Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, calling for more prosecutions and accountability for ‘radical antifa and anarchists’ who want to damage and wreak havoc in the city, causing tens of nights of violent violence in 2020. protests suffered.
“My efforts in good faith to de-escalate are continued with constant violence and even ridicule from radical antifa and anarchists,” Wheeler said. “In response to this, it will be necessary to use additional tools and shift the limits of the tools we already have to bring the criminal destruction and violence to an end.”
Wheeler is committed to three counter-protests for dealing with violent protesters in the city, including asking federal, state, provincial and local law enforcers ‘to come together to deal with anarchist violence as soon as possible.’
He also called on the legislature to increase the fines for repeat offenders, adding that it believes that people convicted of criminal destruction ‘should’ meet with those whose business has damaged them ‘.
The Portland mayor’s remarks point to a drastic change in the tone of his remarks during 2020, when protesters destroyed a nearby courthouse for more than 100 nights, caused in part by outrage over the death of George Floyd in the Minneapolis police station. in May.
President Trump
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