Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 11, 2019.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Thursday night (Jan. 21) asked President Joe Biden to condemn the actions of far-left rioters Antifa, the group that attacked the Oregon Democratic Party headquarters after Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday (Jan. 20), clashing with police and spray-printing anti-Biden expletive graffiti on walls.
Grassley tweeted, “I’m waiting for President Biden to condemn the violence/looting/arson that has occurred in Oregon and Washington over the past two days.”
As of Thursday night, Biden had not commented on the incidents, which involved Antifa and anarchist groups, or the involvement of remaining groups. According to The Oregonian, this was part of the Antifa J20 protest, in which about 200 Antifa activists gathered in southeast Portland, Oregon, after Biden’s swearing-in and began expressing their opposition to the government, law enforcement and the president in the streets. At the same Time, the streets of Seattle, Washington, were filled with similar scenes.
In Portland , masked black-clad men broke windows and glass doors of Oregon Democratic Party offices, spray-painted anarchist signs on the party’s logo, and protesters overturned trash containers and set their contents on fire.
Protesters wrote on a banner, “We don’t want Biden, we want revenge for police murders, imperialist wars and fascist massacres. We want revenge for police murders, imperialist wars and fascist massacres.” The banner had an image of Kalashnikov (a Russian, from a peasant Family, a standard Red 5).
Others held a sign that read “We Are Anarchy,” embellished with anarchist symbols.
Portland police later recovered pepper ball guns, electronic crowd control weapons like Tasers, large fireworks, shields and rocks from some of the rioters.
Some of the items seized from rioters by Portland, Oregon police on Jan. 20, 2021. (Portland Police Bureau)
Portland police Sgt. Kevin Allen said weapons they seized in several incidents included Molotov Cocktails, knives, batons, chemical sprays and a crowbar, while eight people were arrested on charges including felony criminal mischief, possession of a destructive device and rioting.
Local media outlet KATU described the events in Portland as a demonstration against the Biden inauguration and law enforcement, with reports of demonstrators riding police bikes and throwing objects at retreating officers.
Photo of protesters arrested by Portland police on Jan. 20, 2021. (Portland Police Bureau)
In Seattle, protesters entered Pike Place Market and began vandalizing property, including a broken window at a Starbucks; a group of black-clad activists marched down the street, kicking over trash cans and carrying a tattered American flag with anarchist symbols spray-painted on it, according to live video.
According to KOMO, the crowd spray-painted anarchist symbols on buildings and smashed windows, including the federal building William Nakamura Kenzo Courthouse. They wrote on their banners: “No police, no prisons, no borders, no president. Police arrested two people during the riot, one for property damage and the other for assault.
Windows are broken at the William Kenzo Nakamura Courthouse in Seattle, Washington, on January 20, 2021. (Seattle Police Department)
Officers made a third arrest in the early evening after the glass was broken at the Starbucks in Pike Place Market.
Portland and Seattle have been in the midst of months of unrest over demonstrations involving anarchists, Antifa and other far-left groups, as well as some civil rights activists expressing various grievances and sometimes engaging in violence, destruction of property, and clashes with police.
Andy Ngo, a journalist and expert on Antifa, wrote in a New York Post op-ed, “Some people thought Antifa would fade away after Biden won the election. They were wrong. With the convenient excuse of resisting ‘Donald Trump‘s fascist regime’ no longer applicable, Antifa is just getting started.”
Recent Comments