The city of Portland continues to be rocked by incessant rioting, and there appears to be no end in sight. Because of Democratic leadership in this state, they have a ‘brilliant’ way of dealing with unruly citizens: arrest them, charge them, and release them.
Letting the cycle of lawlessness continue.
These past few days, the group identified as Antifa, attacked the Penumbra Kelly Building in Oregon’s largest city. According to journalist Andy Ngo, the attack followed a clash with a group of “right-wingers,” otherwise known as the “Proud Boys.” The police declared it a riot at 11:59pm on the night of the 22nd given that they believed lives were endangered. Antifa threw rocks at officers’ heads, and on a symbolic move, they rolled out a mock guillotine with a bear and US flags and set it on fire.
The people arrested by the police included a research assistant professor at Oregon Health & Science University, a self-proclaimed “life skills coach” who works with foster youth, and multiple other people with past criminal offenses.
This all sounds like the rule of law prevailed, but the problem is these rioters are arrested, charged, and then quickly released without bail. The question has to be asked, is this demoralizing for the officers? For the city?
The reasonable conclusion would be: yes. Arresting criminals and quickly releasing them simply tells them that there is no consequence for their behavior. That means the officers see those who they arrest right back out on the streets to try again.
Police also argue that the riots and protests have made it difficult for them to keep the city safe in other ways, given that the protesters make it difficult for them to respond to other calls around town because their resources are tied up due to the demonstrations.
When it comes to the town, small businesses are those which suffer the most.
According to a report from Fox News, the months of protests and riots have prompted some businesses to leave the city:
Greg Goodman, the co-president of the Downtown Development Group, said in a letter to Mayor Ted Wheeler and members of the Portland City Council that the exodus of companies wasn’t related to the Black Lives Matter movement “but does have most everything to do with the lawlessness you are endorsing downtown.”
“The number is like nothing I have seen in 42 years of doing business in downtown,” he wrote, according to Portland’s KOIN.
The co-president of the group also said that companies such as Airbnb, Banana Republic, Microsoft, Saucebox, and Daimler Trucks North America had previously leased about 90 thousand square feet in the Macy’s building for construction, but now those plans are being halted. Goodman noted that many retail and office brokers in the city have clients that are making plans to leave Portland.
Mayor Ted Wheeler has not condemned the actions of BLM or Antifa, but he certainly found the time to slam the Proud Boys.
“I vehemently oppose what the Proud Boys and those associated with them stand for, and I will not tolerate hate speech and the damage it does in our city. White nationalists, particularly those coming to our city armed, threaten the safety of Portlanders, and are not welcome here,” Wheeler said. “We are at a critical place where police officers are needed to intervene in protests where police officers themselves are the flashpoint.”
With leadership refusing to criticize one side, and openly shaming the other, it remains to be seen what will happen to the city of Portland.
