Man Overwhelmingly Outnumbered by Portland Mob Defends Courthouse
A man carrying an American flag stood outside the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, and told a crowd of protesters that they did not “represent black lives” as they tore down a fence surrounding the building Saturday night.
Daily Caller reporter Jorge Ventura captured on video the standoff between the anonymous man sitting outside the courthouse and the Portland rioters tearing down the protective fencing surrounding the already vandalized building.
“If you stand for justice, come here and stand with me. Stand with me because I stand for justice,” the man said.
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language that some viewers may find offensive.
A man with an American flag ask why the mob is ripping down the fence in front of the Federal Courthouse #Portland pic.twitter.com/XP5QZtLTRO
— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) July 19, 2020
“I’m not here to tear down this f—ing fence. I’m not here to spray paint,” he added.
He told the crowd that he lives in Portland and he is tired of the violent protests.
“It’s going on every day. If you don’t want to get gassed, stop! It has to stop!” he said.
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“This is not peaceful. None of you represent black lives.”
There have been over 50 days of protests in Portland following the death of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis after a police officer knelt on his neck for roughly nine minutes during an arrest, CNN reported.
While many protests have been peaceful, violent demonstrators have taken down fences and damaged federal buildings.
Additional video from Ventura showed protesters stacking the stolen fences against the courthouse doors and banging on the walls with hammers.
Portland police tweeted that the fences were being used as a barricade.
Many officials have been critical of Portland police’s response to the protests, and City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty accused them of collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security in an “aggressive clampdown of peaceful protest.”
Saturday’s incident was declared a riot after protesters broke into and started a fire in a Portland Police Association office building.
This event has been declared a riot. Move to the east now. If you do not move to the east you will be subject to arrest or use of force to include crowd control munitions. Leave the area now.
— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) July 19, 2020
“As the crowd was dispersed, several people in the crowd were arrested and officers were able to extinguish the fire,” police said in a statement to Fox News on Sunday.
“Portland Police did not use any CS gas.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
