Democrat Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler extended the state of emergency
and urged citizens to assist authorities in “unmasking” and pointing out members of the “self-described anarchist mob” that have caused havoc throughout the city since last May.
Portland law enforcement declared a riot in the city just a few hours later, as the mob stormed the northwest side, according to Fox News. Two “anarchist” rioters were apparently arrested during the chaos.
“The Portland Police Bureau said the planned protest that had been billed as an ‘autonomous demonstration,’” Fox News reported. “It started around 9 p.m. PT with around 75 protesters dressed all in black who started vandalizing property around 15 minutes after they began marching from a park near the city’s downtown.”
Mayor Wheeler has extended the state of emergency in Portland through noon Monday. He asks members of the public to get license plates of people dressed all in black and report them to the police. "Our job is to unmask them, arrest them and prosecute them." pic.twitter.com/QsW73Me9fL
— PDX Frontline Alerts (@pdxfrontline) April 23, 2021
The mayor declared a state of emergency last week, right before the Derek Chauvin verdict, worried that if he were not convicted, the mob might’ve burned the city down.
However, in the end, Chauvin was found guilty of killing George Floyd.
“The Democrat extended a state of emergency in Portland through Monday amid concerns about potential unrest following the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer found guilty on all charges for the death of George Floyd. The Portland mayor asked the public to come forward with any information on members of the anarchist group.”
“The city is beginning to recover, but self-described anarchists who engage in regular criminal destruction don’t want things to open up, to recover,” Wheeler told the people of Portland. “They want to prevent us from doing the work of making a better Portland for everyone. They want to burn, they want to bash.”
Following 11 months of violence in Portland by BLM-#Antifa, some of which became deadly, Mayor @tedwheeler has issued his strongest statements yet about unmasking the rioters: https://t.co/389LC660rY
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) April 24, 2021
Portland’s mayor who, last year, promised to divert millions of dollars from law enforcement amid calls to “defund the police” (something he walked back on in March) said last Friday that he is in favor of Portland officers using all “legal strategies” to deal with the riots, including the controversial “kettling” tactic, which has police cornering protesters into a small area and letting them out one by one after they’ve been thoroughly searched.
Antifa’s days are numbered.https://t.co/qZTRbVayCq
— Chuck Woolery (@chuckwoolery) April 24, 2021
Wheeler also noted that Black Lives Matter has already denounced the destruction, and he is now urging locals to turn people they believe might be part of the “self-described anarchist mob” over to police.
“Our job is to unmask them, arrest them and prosecute them,” the mayor said according to The Washington Post,” asking the public to contact the police and provide them with information about the rioters, write down their license plate numbers or film them when they commit acts of vandalism.”
“Together we can make a stand,” he added. “We’re doing what we can today. I’m also asking for your help to make a stand and take our city back.”
“Our community needs to resume their lives, people need to go back to work, employers need to be able to reopen,” Wheeler said.
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