1/21/23a News Update #1

AARON CAMPBELL

A commission of international human rights groups is investigating:

https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2021/01/portland-police-shooting-of-aaron-campbell-in-2010-under-scrutiny-by-international-commission.html

DEMOS

“Crowds of people across Portland turned violent on Inauguration Day, smashing windows at the Democratic Party of Oregon and later targeting the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement facility where federal officers declared an unlawful assembly.

A crowd of around 150 people gathered at Revolution Hall in Southeast Portland around 2 p.m. Less than an hour later, a few officers on bicycles rode into the parking lot and were quickly surrounded by dozens of people, Portland Police said. The group took one officer’s bicycle.

More officers arrived and they got the bicycle back but the crowd wouldn’t let the officers leave. Police said reinforcements came and they seized some long poles and a large knife from people in the crowd before setting off a smoke canister to escape.

The protesters then began marching down SE Stark Street. They eventually reached the Democratic Party of Oregon’s headquarters on NE 9th Ave where they smashed windows and left graffiti. Some dragged dumpsters into the street and lit their contents on fire. “

“Eight people were arrested: four from Portland, two from Albany, one each from McMinnville and Vancouver. They are: Kyle Romstad, 22; Kaiave Douvia, 22; Nicole Aria Rose, 25; Darrell Kimberlin, 31; Jean V. Paris, 18; Alyssa Hartley Davis, 18; Austin N. Nuchraska, 25; and Davis Alan Beeman, 38.”

KOIN 6 runs the mugshots.  Some are visibly injured. “Another group of about 150 met at Irving Park on Wednesday evening where they listened to speakers who called on the government to “inaugurate justice and defend Black lives,” among other demands such as abolishing police, passing the Green New Deal and protecting immigrants.

Activists who spoke made it clear they’re glad the Trump administration is out but they aren’t interested in putting their faith in President Joe Biden, either.

The group — organized by the Defend Democracy Coalition — started peacefully marching shortly after 6 p.m., traveling along NE Fremont near NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. They then returned to the park and slowly dispersed.”

“A third group about 200 people strong gathered at Caruthers Park around 8 p.m. near the ICE facility — a location targeted by violent groups throughout much of 2020. Police announced a short time later that some people were seen damaging the building, including throwing rocks and eggs, and others were seen carrying pepperball guns, Taser-like weapons, shields and rocks.

Federal officers declared the gathering an unlawful assembly and Portland Police said federal officers used crowd control munitions, though they didn’t elaborate on what exactly was used. A KOIN 6 News crew witnessed what appeared to be tear gas, as well as stun grenades and less-lethal munitions like pepperballs. Several people appeared to be taken into custody. “

https://www.koin.com/news/protests/inauguration-protests-portland-01202021/

“Far-left, anti-police demonstrators smashed windows at the Democratic Party of Oregon building in Northeast Portland Wednesday afternoon.”

<<There were at least 100 people, many dressed in all black. Marchers held banners that had various messages including “We are ungovernable” and “A new world from the ashes.” >>

“Eight people were arrested in connection with the demonstration, according to Portland police. Their charges ranged from criminal mischief, to possession of a destructive device, to riot, to reckless burning. While making the arrests, officers recovered batons, irritant spray, Molotov cocktails, knives and a crowbar, police said.”

“Police released the following information on the people who were arrested:

    22-year-old Kyle Romstad of Portland, Criminal Mischief II

    22-year-old Kaiave Douvia, of Portland, Criminal Mischief I

    18-year-old Jean V. Paris, of Albany, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Criminal Mischief III, Resist Arrest

    18-year-old Alyssa Hartley Davis, of Albany, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II

    25-year-old Austin N. Nuchraska, of McMinnville, Possession of a Destructive Device, Criminal Mischief I

    25-year-old Nicole Aria Rose, of Portland, Criminal Mischief I

    31-year-old Darnell Kimberlin, of Portland, Reckless Burning, Criminal Mischief II

    38-year-old Davis Alan Beeman, of Vancouver, WA, Riot, Disorderly Conduct II”

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/protests/protests-planned-in-portland-on-inauguration-day/283-50a33cdc-a636-4d5e-acdc-5d33a7cb4635

“Federal officers declared an unlawful assembly outside the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in Portland’s South Waterfront Wednesday night. …Portland police said people were throwing rocks, eggs and vandalizing the building.”

“KGW’s Devon Haskins reports federal officers have used munitions and tear gas to disperse demonstrators.”

“According to journalists at the scene, large amounts of tear-gas and smoke were used on protesters throughout the night. The group of demonstrators were continuously pushed away from the ICE building by the feds. Many times the protesters would regroup and try to make their way back to the building.”

<<Portland police said in a press release that they did not deeply any munitions or CS gas. Between 9:45 and 10:45 p.m., police said they circled the neighborhood to find “specific people in the crowd for whom there was probable cause to arrest and made arrests.”>>

“The large crowd, estimated by reporters on scene between 100 and 200 people, is calling for the abolishment of the government agency.”

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/protests/portland-protests-inauguration-day-ice-building/283-cc38591f-524c-4dcd-9e32-9fb5fa6dead5

<<Around 9 p.m. the crowd began to move, chanting slogans protesting the United States’ detention and caging of migrant children. Protesters also decried Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and President Joe Biden and chanted, “Abolish ICE.” Upon reaching the building, several people spray-painted “Reunite families now” onto the wall of the ICE building.

The gathering was declared an unlawful assembly around 9:30 and the crowd was told that those who trespassed on federal property with weapons or “other dangerous items” would be arrested. Federal officers used tear gas and munitions several times; at one point, the air was so thick with gas and smoke that it was difficult to see. As of 10 p.m., Portland police had arrested at least one person.

Earlier Wednesday, a crowd of about 200 people, including self-described anarchists, marched in the city’s Central Eastside area and smashed windows at the Democratic Party of Oregon headquarters. Some of the demonstrators carried a sign that read “We don’t want Biden, we want revenge!” in response to “police murders” and “imperialist wars.”

Portland police said they arrested eight people.>>

The O also includes some feel-good moments:

<As speakers addressed the crowd, a car flipped over about a block away. Several demonstrators gathered around the car to see if anyone was hurt, and protesters pulled a little girl and her mother out of the car before the fire department arrived. Neither were seriously injured. …Protesters who rushed to help the family who flipped their car were adamant about not wanting officers to respond, saying they inflict more harm by being there. Protesters at the event called for defunding police.>>

https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2021/01/inauguration-day-in-oregon-protests-celebrations-expected-gov-kate-brown-cheers-a-new-chapter.html

<<The event was interrupted by a group of 12 Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers on bicycles before it even began. The officers’ presence drew anger and frustration from those who had begun to gather. Some officers began asking participants if they had weapons on them.

An officer who only identified himself by his last name, Jones, told the Mercury that PPB was on the scene because the event had been shared on social media by a local activist group called PNW Youth Liberation Front.

“Their events always end in violence,” Jones said. “We just wanted to come and see what was going on… if people had weapons.”

PPB officers confiscated at least one homemade banner protesters had brought to the event, explaining that it could be used as a weapon.

According to a PPB press statement, officers also confiscated a knife from a member of the public.>>

https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2021/01/20/31434678/portland-activists-protest-inauguration-clash-with-police

THE FASH

<<Oregon Republican Party issued a statement condemning the 10 Republican members of Congress who voted to impeach President Donald Trump and aligning itself with conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol building.>>

<<The news release described the Republican votes in favor of impeachment as a “profound betrayal,” and the impeachment vote itself as a “sham process” without an investigation and “in contradiction to the known and emerging facts.”>>

<<It called the insurrection a “false flag operation” designed to discredit Trump and support Biden’s introduction of new domestic terrorism legislation, and cited a variety of right-wing pundits and publications that have advanced the same theories.

“This provided the sham motivation to impeach President Trump in order to advance the Democrat goal of seizing total power, in a frightening parallel to the February 1933 burning of the German Reichstag,’ the resolutions said.>>

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2021/01/oregon-republican-party-condemns-impeachment-aligns-itself-with-conspiracy-theories.html

<<Federal investigators are looking for information on two men, including one wearing a Proud Boys t-shirt with the word “PDX” on it, wanted in connection with the U.S. Capitol insurrection earlier this month.

The FBI’s Washington D.C. Field Office released a photo of the suspects, saying the men are wanted for “unlawful entry” into the Capitol building.>>

https://www.koin.com/news/fbi-releases-photo-of-2-wanted-in-capitol-attack-1-wears-portland-proud-boy-shirt/

“Most importantly, Malimon was social media savvy in sharing her devotion to Jesus and Donald Trump. Her Instagram page includes videos of her and others falsely claiming that Trump won the 2020 presidential election by a “landslide” and a photo of Trump overlaid with the words “One of God’s Finest Warriors,” juxtaposed with images of Bible verses, fashion shoots in Portland high-rises, and sponsored posts for hand cream, phone accessories, activewear and shampoo.”

<<On Jan. 6, Malimon was arrested in Washington, D.C., following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. She now faces criminal charges along with her mother, Yevgeniya, for “unlawful entry on public property” after the city’s mayor instituted a citywide curfew.>>

<<Court records show Malimon and her mother were with four other women who refused to depart from the Peace Circle monument on the east side of the National Mall, in between the Capitol Reflection Pool and the U.S. Capitol Building. Beginning at 7:15 pm, a police officer issued three warnings to leave. All six women “did not obey the warnings,” court records say. “They were stopped and placed under arrest for violation of mayor’s curfew.”>>

<<There’s no evidence Malimon ever set foot in the Capitol. But her Jan. 6 arrest launched Malimon into the public eye. National media outlets seized on her role as an organizer of a Portland “Boaters for Trump” parade that sank a family’s boat in the Willamette River last summer. >>

<<In October, Malimon reposted one video titled “The Great Awakening of America”—a calling card for QAnon—and, in July, an infographic about child sex trafficking alongside hashtags synonymous with the conspiracy theory, including #savethechildren, #q, #wwg1wga, #pizzagate, #pedogate2020, #wayfairgate and #pedoring.>>

<<Locally, Malimon has spoken onstage at the Oregon Students for Freedom car rally and a Young Republicans event in October called “Trump Victory Oregon,” where Malimon presented a $6,663 check to the Portland Police Association.>>

https://www.wweek.com/news/2021/01/20/kristina-malimon-was-the-social-media-savvy-future-of-oregon-republicans-then-she-got-a-little-too-famous/

<<At least three former Oregon political candidates — all people of color — received robocalls with threatening messages on Tuesday, the day before President Joe Biden was inaugurated.>>

<<“We are watching you,” the voice said, according to Woodley. “You are either with us or against us.”>>

https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2021/01/threatening-robocalls-target-former-oregon-political-candidates-all-people-of-color-day-before-inauguration.html

JAYAPAL

I was a little surprised to hear this from Commissioner Jayapal: “if we’re going to talk about extremism and where the balance of extremism sits, the storming of the Capitol was absolutely right-wing extremism. If you look at what our intelligence agencies across the country have identified as the biggest threat, it’s white supremacy. It’s not left-wing extremism. Creating an equivalence between the two is absolutely contrary to all of the evidence that we’ve seen.”

https://www.wweek.com/news/2021/01/20/what-can-democrats-and-republicans-still-agree-on-we-asked-susheela-jayapal-and-stan-pulliam/

Also:

“The picture of Portland as a hotbed of violence and vandalism just doesn’t reflect the reality of what has happened here over the past many months. I am incredibly proud of the way that Portlanders stood up and spoke out about the murder of George Floyd and about racism and about Black Lives Matter. For a hundred days, they put themselves on the line, went to the Multnomah County Justice Center, took on tear gas. So if we’re going to talk about calling out violence, we also need to call out police violence.”

https://www.wweek.com/news/2021/01/20/what-can-democrats-and-republicans-still-agree-on-we-asked-susheela-jayapal-and-stan-pulliam/

SALEM

” Only a handful of protesters showed up outside of the Oregon State Capitol “

https://www.koin.com/news/protests/oregon-capitol-salem-inauguration-protests-01202021/

The O’s headline makes it sound like Salem businesses just want an end to protests, but the story includes this:

<<Jonathan Jones’ front-row seat to what happens next is his restaurant that is decorated with Black Lives Matter signs and art near the Oregon State Capitol. Epilogue Kitchen and Cocktails has been vandalized by a white supremacist. One day, police showed up as Jones, who is Black, and his friends were being accosted by neo-fascist Proud Boys. The police at first confronted Jones’ group as if they were the threat.

“There’s not a person who stood with me that day who didn’t think that they might die,” Jones said. “And the most awful part was not knowing if it was going to come from the police or from the Proud Boys.”>>

And:

<<Brian Henderson, minister of First Baptist Church of Denver that sits across an avenue from the shuttered Colorado Capitol, was so close to the upheavals of 2020 that he was struck in the left knee with a pepper ball. Henderson had been handing out water from the front steps of his small brick church as thousands battled police during riots over George Floyd’s killing.>>

https://www.oregonlive.com/nation/2021/01/residents-in-salem-olympia-and-other-capital-cities-hope-inauguration-will-bring-relief-from-tense-protests.html