Antifa, Black Lives Matter rioters in Portland try to burn down a building

On the evening of Tuesday, August 18, Antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters in Portland once again targeted city property. This time, they turned their attention to the Multnomah County Building, which they attempted to burn down. The riot at the county building marks the 82nd night of consecutive violence in the city.

The Multnomah County Building, located in southeast Portland, is home to several offices of the county commission. Earlier in the day, several posts circulated on social media calling for people to gather at Colonel Summers Park, several blocks to the east.

The post said that people will be gathering and marching for the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as for the cause of abolishing law enforcement and dismantling the prison system. Different online fliers also encouraged dedicated rioters to go to nearby Laurelhurst Park earlier in the evening for “shield wall and frontline practice.”

At 9:45 p.m., the group left the park and began marching west towards the Multnomah County Building. Almost as soon as they arrived, they started lighting fires in dumpsters and throwing projectiles such as rocks at the building’s windows. Several individuals were also throwing flaming objects at the building, such as newspapers.

By 10 p.m., several of the building’s windows had been totally shattered. One individual was caught on video throwing flaming debris through one of the broken windows, starting a fire in one of the offices. (Related: “Kill a cop, save a life:” Portland rioters chant and cheer for the MURDER of police officers.)

Around 20 minutes later, large fires could be seen in one of the offices inside the building. Curtains, as well as stacks of documents inside the room, were on fire. Arsonists were also continuously throwing flaming newspapers through the window in an attempt to help spread the fire. According to a press release from the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), several rioters sprayed lighter fluid inside the building before the flaming debris was thrown inside.

Office on fire now. Crowd chanted, "What did you see? Didn't see shi*!" pic.twitter.com/WCehCrWPgw

— Hannah Ray Lambert (@TheHannahRay) August 19, 2020

The police also stated that the fire in the county building was large enough to trigger the fire alarms and the sprinkler system. By 10:30 p.m., the PPB declared the gathering a riot and ordered everybody to leave the area immediately.

The Antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters are becoming more and more difficult to deal with, as their tactics become even more sophisticated and deadly. Learn about one instance when a BLM rioter tried to murder an innocent man by listening to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about the incident, which occurred in Austin, Texas, and resulted in the death of the BLM assailant.

Mob refused to disperse, one officer injured, two rioters arrested

The crowd refused to leave, so the PPB officers responding to the incident were forced to pepper spray individuals who were adamant in preventing law enforcement from putting out the fires. Fortunately, this resistance didn’t last long, and the fire inside the building was extinguished within minutes after the PPB intervened. Portland Fire and Rescue teams were dispatched to deal with the dumpster fires in the area.

After the fire was dealt with, the PPB focused its resources on dispersing the rest of the crowd. Officers said they were hit with projectiles during this operation.

By 11 p.m., the police had fully dispersed the mob. But 30 minutes later, the crowd regrouped and tried to make their way back to the Multnomah County Building.

Police loudspeakers reminded the crowd that the demonstration had already been declared a riot, and that people needed to leave the area. This announcement once again fell on deaf ears, and the rioters were forcefully dispersed. using crowd control munitions.

The PPB reported that no tear gas was used, and one officer was injured during the second round of dispersal when a rioter hit him with a rock.

By 12:25 a.m. on Wednesday, the diminishing crowd had been pushed back to Colonel Summers Park, where they initially gathered. Small groups of people stayed here for a while before dispersing of their own accord.

New DA intervenes, drops charges on arrested rioters

Two individuals were arrested during that evening’s rioting.

Peter Curtis, 40, was arrested and charged with reckless endangering and first-degree criminal mischief. Jesse Hawk, 23, was charged with rioting, two charges of unlawful use of a weapon, interfering with a peace officer, two charges of assaulting a public safety officer, two charges of harassment, second-degree disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and attempted escape.

Unfortunately, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office intervened and submitted no complaint orders “due to missing information needed by our office to make a charging decision.” This means that the charges against the two rioters have been dropped and will only be reinstated once the DA has reviewed the case and the PPB is able to provide the office with additional information.

The new DA for Multnomah County is making it more difficult for law enforcement to do their duty and protect life and property. Learn about how the events in Portland have escalated since his ascension to the office by reading the latest articles at Rioting.news.

Sources include:

FoxNews.com

KOIN.com

KGW.com

KPTV.com