Tonight in #PortlandRiots, rioters decided to target a Multnomah County office building at 501 SE Hawthorne for vandalism & arson.

This site had not been targeted previously. https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/protests/protesters-gather-at-colonel-summers-park-as-nightly-demonstrations-in-portland-continue/283-02393710-146d-46a9-a0b1-f07be26b76c2
Riot declared outside Multnomah Building as nightly protests in Portland continue

A post on social media said the group would be rallying for Black Lives Matter and the total abolition of the prison system and police force.

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/protests/protesters-gather-at-colonel-summers-park-as-nightly-demonstrations-in-portland-continue/283-02393710-146d-46a9-a0b1-f07be26b76c2
Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury's statement on the vandalism & arson

https://multco.us/multnomah-county/news/statement-chair-deborah-kafoury-incident-multnomah-county-building
Video of the fire

(NB this videographer is not a neutral or objective reporter, & his subsequent claims regarding events should not be relied upon absent independent confirmation) https://twitter.com/i/status/1295955181939519488
501 SE Hawthorne is close-in East Portland
https://twitter.com/AlliMechanic_TV/status/1295960803850387459?s=20
Looks like somebody's decided to try to take #PortlandRiots to the ICE facility Wednesday night

(& no, I don't know why @googlemaps has it listed as "Imagrations & Customs Enforcement")
Looks like somebody's decided to try to take #PortlandRiots to the ICE facility Wednesday night(& no, I don't know why @googlemaps has it listed as "Imagrations & Customs Enforcement")
Looks like somebody's decided to try to take #PortlandRiots to the ICE facility Wednesday night(& no, I don't know why @googlemaps has it listed as "Imagrations & Customs Enforcement")
Looks like somebody's decided to try to take #PortlandRiots to the ICE facility Wednesday night(& no, I don't know why @googlemaps has it listed as "Imagrations & Customs Enforcement")
ICYMI, 100s of RadLefties occupied Immigration & Customs Enforcement HQ property & adjacent property in SW Portland from June 17 to July 23, 2018. https://www.oregonlive.com/news/erry-2018/07/62ee150670182/occupy-ice-pdx-a-timeline-of-t.html
Occupy ICE PDX: a timeline of the Portland encampment

Occupy ICE PDX: a timeline of the Portland encampment

https://www.oregonlive.com/news/erry-2018/07/62ee150670182/occupy-ice-pdx-a-timeline-of-t.html
Portland Mayor @tedwheeler refused to protect public access to the bldg or otherwise police the mass encampment. The occupation forced HQ to close for ~2 weeks, leaving immigrants unable to keep necessary appointments until fed reinforcements cd arrive & secure the area.
ICE installed a temporary no-climb fence to secure the building.

After six days, the City cited the security fence for violating code & blocking part of the sidewalk.

Meanwhile, a tent city of 100s remained on trolley tracks next to ICE bldg for weeks.

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2018/06/portland_ice_protesters_remain.html
ICE installed a temporary no-climb fence to secure the building. After six days, the City cited the security fence for violating code & blocking part of the sidewalk.Meanwhile, a tent city of 100s remained on trolley tracks next to ICE bldg for weeks. https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2018/06/portland_ice_protesters_remain.html
ICE installed a temporary no-climb fence to secure the building. After six days, the City cited the security fence for violating code & blocking part of the sidewalk.Meanwhile, a tent city of 100s remained on trolley tracks next to ICE bldg for weeks. https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2018/06/portland_ice_protesters_remain.html
ICE installed a temporary no-climb fence to secure the building. After six days, the City cited the security fence for violating code & blocking part of the sidewalk.Meanwhile, a tent city of 100s remained on trolley tracks next to ICE bldg for weeks. https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2018/06/portland_ice_protesters_remain.html
"Protesters" continued to interfere with ordinary business at the ICE bldg & assaulted officers on multiple occasions.

Which was why the fence was necessary.
"Protesters" also harassed & attacked passersby, incldg proprietors of a non-profit food cart that funded a meal delivery program for the homeless.

Harassment & threats forced them to shut down & sell the cart.
A number of neighbors expressed their displeasure with the chaos to local news stations
On July 25, Mayor @tedwheeler indicated he'd remove such future encampments sooner rather than later, "if I could predict the exact situation." (Spoiler: Chapman Square drug on for several weeks)
After 2018 Occupy ICE, Wheeler expressed concern "message" was undermined by piles of garbage & bio-hazard & litter left behind. "While I support [their] goals ... I don't support that as a tactic."

Weeks of ongoing chaos & harassment of public tho? Meh.
RadLeft claim causes "good liberals" have sympathy for & get a pass on low-grade terrorism in super lib cities.

Good libs can't talk abt criminal activity for fear of undermining/distracting from MESSAGE or valuing property & privileged folks' comfort over "marginalized" lives
RadLeft also fabricate claims of persecution to drown out objections to comrades' actual harassment of & assaults on public.

Five days in, public complained. So Occupy ICE spox claimed a drive-by "poop spraying" had been directed at encampment. 🤔🤨🙄
I've expected since early June that mass "BLM" rallies wd eventually give way to mass "Abolish ICE" rallies in order to revive fervor & numbers & consolidate diverse factions into a larger radical movement.

Tonight may or may not be part of such a strategic pivot. Time will tell
Also expect efforts to recruit momentum from existential threat narratives around MeToo, "gun safety," Sunrise Mvmt, CAIR/BDS, AIM, LGBT rts, & eventually far more overtly, capitalism & "Western oppressors."

& mainstream Dem & allied-media messaging is directly feeding process
Agree. Don't expect Abolish ICE to displace BLM - it'll take the lead on messaging for a period. I believe overall goal is to grow & knit factions together into a unified "uprising against oppression" thru this process, which started before Trump even ran https://twitter.com/RandiPDX/status/1296140519202893824?s=20
I worked extensively in Dem organizing, messaging, & progressive infrastructure building in CA, WA & ID for 18yrs off & on, 1992-2010. That background partially informs my analysis here.

Revolution isn't coming tomorrow. But folks ARE working on it & they're getting $$ to do so
We don't need thousands of revolutionaries in streets to cause serious disruption & harm to innocents. RadLeft are weaponizing rage. Enraged folks are volatile, esp when mob dynamics come into play. Moral certainty feeds radicalism & can birth terrorist cells, as seen in 60s-70s
You can follow @PDXSelina.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled:
Those who think consciousness raising & movement building are disconnected, or even a distraction from electoral politics have not paid attention to the history of social change.In this thread, we
Read more
The 2020s will be known as the Remote Work decadeA few predictions of what is likely to emerge[ a thread ] Third Space: Office and Working from Home will
Read more
1/29: Have you ever had a concept explained to you that helps frame complex issues you’ve been wrestling with and opens your eyes to new possibilities? A concept that I
Read more
By continuing to use the site, you are consenting to the use of cookies as explained in our Cookie Policy to improve your experience.