A group of peaceful protesters in Portland were disrupted by another organization that caused a riot in the city. This resulted in the arrest of 10 people connected to the riots. Local authorities stated that there were two large crowds on opposing sides in Downtown Portland on Wednesday around 7p.m. Pacific time.
They clearer stated that one group was there to gather for a peaceful demonstration, and the other group wanted to incite violence throughout Downtown. Oregon Governor Kate Brown instructed the National Guard to assist local law enforcement in the area. Some of the businesses were damaged by the rioters, and police attempted to confiscate spray paint, Molotov cocktails and other objects used as weapons by the rioters. One rioter threw a Molotov cocktail at the police while he was wearing tactical gear and carrying an assault rifle.
According to Newsweek, the peaceful protesters were around 250 in number and the rioters 300. The protesters were demonstrating to promote a fair 2020 election with chants that refer to the government and remaining states counting every vote. They eventually left the scene by a request of law enforcement who wanted to target the rioters and not make the mistake of arresting any peaceful protesters.
Portland has seen many protests since the summer, beginning in May with the death of George Floyd, which caused large protest in many states within the U.S. Even though the Presidential election is not over, former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris have already won the state’s seven electoral votes.
It is unclear if the rioting was motivated by anything related to the 2020 election. Americans have the Constitutional right to form protest, but opportunist use these opportunities for violence and destruction of communities. Many analysts refer to this as the “Ferguson-effect” which happened in 2014 when an unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was shot 11 times by Officer Darren Wilson of the Ferguson Police Department.
This unfortunate event brought out thousands of peaceful protesters around the country, but it was also disrupted by people hiding within protest crowds and committing crimes: assaulting police officers by throwing items at them, burning buildings, breaking windows and other violent acts. After Ferguson, which is in North St. Louis County, many states throughout the country have had the same problem of having to decipher who is peaceful and who is there to cause harm. Even though the protesters in Portland were not there to demonstrate after an unjust shooting in their community, for many it carries the title of “Ferguson-effect” because their efforts were motivated by the false narrative of country-wide voter fraud.
They were there to protest on behalf of all Americans who simply want all the votes to be counted without lawsuits from President Trump and his commitment to bring a seemingly meritless case to the Supreme Court. The protest in Ferguson, due to the use of social media, caused protest in many other states outside of Missouri. The protest taking place in Portland is similar because there are many American cities that are protesting the right to count all votes in the current election.