PORTLAND, Ore. — The City of Roses is no stranger to seeing large portions of its local population rioting in the streets for any reason, big or small. In the aftermath of the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement riots in Los Angeles, Antifa militants in the Pacific Northwest have mobilized to show solidarity.
Keeping true to tradition, the participants in these events are not simply content with giving speeches and marching around before calling it a day. The crowds are encouraged, in person and on social media, to take part in “direct action” to take the fight to the second Trump administration. In Portland, that “direct action” has resulted in besieging the ICE facility located on the south side by the Willamette River.
After holding the driveway for a few hours, the Antifa crowd was easily repelled within a few minutes.
The ICE facility has been targeted many times before this recent round of unrest. The building and the officers defending it were targeted during the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots, in addition to the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse and various Portland Police Bureau precincts.
The entire public entrance for the ICE location is now boarded up to prevent further damage. Graffiti calling for the death of federal agents and President Donald Trump covers the walls.
On Thursday, Antifa activists gathered at Elizabeth Caruthers Park before marching a few blocks to their target. The crowd gathered on the driveway, blocking federal vehicles from entering or leaving. The Federal Protective Service announced multiple times that if the crowd did not move, they would be subject to arrest and crowd control munitions. The rioters booed and jeered at each announcement.
Portland police officers on bicycles and squad cars passed by the scene a few times but did not intervene.
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Julio Rosas/Blaze Media
When someone threw a large firework into the perimeter, federal agents moved outside to clear the crowd from the driveway. While some of the Antifa agitators fought back, most scattered in the face of tear gas, flash-bangs, and pepper-balls being shot at them.
After holding the driveway for a few hours, the Antifa crowd was easily repelled within a few minutes.
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The Department of Homeland Security stated on Thursday that at least five Antifa rioters “were arrested on various charges including assault on federal law enforcement. … Secretary Noem’s message to the rioters is clear: you will not stop us or slow us down. ICE and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
While the initial wave of riots has died down in Los Angeles, the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration has finally given the far left an excuse to create chaos in some of the nation’s most progressive cities.
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