After months of harassment, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler vowed to be tough on Antifa, whose members are involved in near-night campaigns of chaos, violence and destruction in the city.
“My good faith efforts for the de-escalation have been subjected to continued violence and even contempt on the part of Antifa and radical anarchists,” Wheeler told a news conference on Friday evening. “In response, we will need to use additional tools and push the boundaries of the tools we already have to end criminal destruction and violence.”
“The time has come to step back harder against those who are destined to destroy our community and take more risks in the fight against illegality,” Wheeler added.
Portland voters gave mayor a second term Portland voters last month, openly overcoming him pro-Antifa candidate, Sarah Iannarone.
Wheeler’s press conference was motivated by a New Year’s Eve riot near the federal courthouse Mark O. Hatfield, which has been a frequent target of agitators.
“A rally in downtown Portland has become a riot. Participants have dropped several bombs on officers and fired commercial-grade fireworks at the Federal Justice and Justice Center,” Portland police said. he tweeted New Year’s Eve.
Throughout 2020, Antifa riot police had been released in downtown Portland. The situation became so bad that President Trump briefly deployed federal troops to protect U.S. property in the city in July.
“We are trying to help Portland, not hurt him. His leadership, for months, has lost control of anarchists and agitators. They are missing in action. WE MUST PROTECT FEDERAL PROPERTY, AND OUR PEOPLE. These weren’t just protesters, that’s the real deal! ” Trump said at the time.