by Debra Heine
After violent antifa riots were allowed to rock downtown Portland, Oregon, for over a month, Border Patrol agents over the holiday weekend were finally deployed to restore order.
Acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan expressed frustration over the situation on Fox News Sunday: “Where are the local political leaders?” he asked. “These are not protesters, these are criminals.”
Saturday night, about a thousand agitators threw bricks and shot fireworks at the police, injuring several officers and damaging property. There were more than a dozen arrests.
This is some of the video taken by an Officer who was embedded with a Rapid Response Team tonight. The Officer sustained injury from a mortar that exploded near her feet while she was recording. pic.twitter.com/S4JvlXioZc
— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) July 5, 2020
Independent journalist Andy Ngo shared images and video from the riot on Twitter.
Militant antifa have again gathered outside the Justice Center in downtown after attacking a courthouse yesterday. They’re moving barricades into the street & are burning US flags in the fountain that used to house the elk statue before it was torched. https://t.co/BUe2slkZfX
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 4, 2020
Rioting in downtown Portland by antifa. They came fully equipped with shields and explosive fireworks. Federal police (not @PortlandPolice) have used CS gas to forcibly disperse them. It’s working and antifa hate it. pic.twitter.com/MA8f3BRLzO
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 5, 2020
Rioting in downtown Portland by antifa continues. Federal police used CS gas to clear the violent militants from further attacking the courthouse. Now Portland Police are dispersing them further out as they continue to break business windows and riot. pic.twitter.com/Ra3gIoyeVc
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 5, 2020
Another riot occurred overnight on 4–5 July in Portland. Antifa & BLM militants broke out windows of courthouse & aimed fireworks inside. They threw bricks & mortars at police. There were so many rioters police only responded to emergency calls for city. https://t.co/bGpUMffMhi pic.twitter.com/Pl6abIQ6bg
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 5, 2020
Video recorded by @PortlandPolice shows the anarchy and chaos outside the federal courthouse. Overnight, antifa and BLM extremists caused numerous fires and property destruction in a riot involving over a thousand people. pic.twitter.com/TJhWdnPzGU
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 5, 2020
Federal police mobilize to protect the Portland federal courthouse after antifa attacked it again tonight. Downtown is a war zone at night. Belligerents from antifa and BLM carry out arson attacks and more against law enforcement. https://t.co/R49M3NW8jK
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 4, 2020
Antifa militants also set an Oregon Trail statue on fire, and not for the first time, according to Ngo. A sign saying “STOLEN LAND” was put on the statue.
The statue to Oregon Trail pioneers has been set on fire again by antifa in downtown Portland. A sign saying "STOLEN LAND" is hanging on the statue. pic.twitter.com/apF3PKaxeZ
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 5, 2020
A bronze statue dedicated to the families who made the dangerous journey on the Oregon trial to settle in the Pacific Northwest has been the target of antifa & far-left extremists for weeks. Last night they set it on fire again & defaced it with messages about decolonization. pic.twitter.com/Lkpq3Y8Gd6
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 5, 2020
Last week, antifa goons also completely destroyed a statue of an elk for no apparent reason.
The elk statue in downtown Portland is now fully engulfed in flames. #antifa https://t.co/EdqOnJCdSP
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 2, 2020
Antifa & BLM extremists have turned downtown Portland into an empty urban wasteland on the watch of @tedwheeler & @OregonGovBrown.
The aftermath of another night of rioting and arson attacks: pic.twitter.com/xSP6W6V8NU
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 5, 2020
“What we saw in Portland last night was criminal and we stood strong with our federal partners to resist that,” Morgan told “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
Police in Portland declared a riot around 11 p.m. local time Saturday as Independence Day marked the 38th consecutive day of civil unrest in the city.
Videos showed graffiti painted on downtown buildings and showed a fire burning as a crowd gathered.
The Multnomah County Justice Center in downtown Portland: pic.twitter.com/v2mJDW0YOL
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 5, 2020
“These are not protesters, these are criminals who got together and organized and planned and actually brought weapons, they brought shields, they brought frozen water bottles, rocks, lasers, weapons with the intent to destroy a federal building and harm law enforcement officers,” CBP Commissioner Morgan said on Fox and Friends.
He added, “I don’t care what your ideological beliefs are, your political affiliation, violence, we should all be united, is wrong.”
Morgan went on to say that he’s glad that President Trump “understands the importance of law and order and that it’s a cornerstone of American society.”
He added that “one of the criminals” tried to assault one of the CBP officers while he was being arrested overnight and pointed out that “a pipe bomb, a fused incendiary device and machete was actually discovered” during a search.
“Think about the deadly consequences from the criminal actions,” he added.
Acting Deputy Sec. of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli posted a picture of the pipe bomb materials onto Twitter.
Pipe bomb materials from one of the violent rioters last night in Portland. Prosecution forthcoming… pic.twitter.com/32IOePTyCB
— Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli (@HomelandKen) July 5, 2020
“It’s a game to them. It’s a deadly game,” Morgan said. “It’s serious. This is about law and order. We must be united,” he continued. “Where are the local political leaders, standing up, saying this is unconscionable, this is wrong, and these individuals should cease and desist and be arrested? Where are they?”
Morgan went on to say that United States Marshals, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI has “committed a lot of resources to making sure that these individuals are arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law for the criminals that they are.”
“We are doing a disservice to peaceful, lawful protesters when we call these individuals protesters,” Morgan said. “They’re not. They’re criminal thugs with an agenda.”
“We’re going to escalate to the use of force that’s needed to repel these criminals and apprehend them and prosecute them,” Morgan added.
The CBP chief said federal agents would remain in place and take care of the problem. “We’re not walking away from our federal facilities like police departments have in some communities. We’re staying,” he said.
Forced to face no-nonsense federal officers Sunday night, the antifa mob was much less rambunctious than they’ve been with Democrat-controlled local police, according to Ngo.
In the presence of a strong police and military force not hampered by local weak leadership, antifa have not dared to attack the Portland federal courthouse tonight. This is the most restrained I’ve seen them behave after weeks of violence & extremism.
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 6, 2020
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Debra Heine reports for American Greatness.
Background Photo “Downtown Portland” by Parker Knight. CC BY 2.0.