Portland protests have no goal except violence and anarchy

At the end of May, rioting and looting broke out in Portland, Ore., as it did in dozens of other American cities in response to the police-involved death of George Floyd. In one night, hundreds of rioters ravaged downtown, breaking into jewelry stores, the mall and banks. They left a trail of broken windows and fires in their wake. That was seven weeks ago. And while violent protests have ebbed or stopped everywhere else, it has continued and grown stronger in Portland.

For 58 days, mass protests and riots have taken over parts of the city. Some streets and areas are literal "no-go zones" at night — either blocked by fires or teams of "guards."

Day after day, hundreds and even thousands take to the streets and claim the territory as theirs. They cycle through a number of chants like "All cops are bastards" and "F- -k the police." A large number of them participate in violent criminal acts such as arson and assault. They've made it a game to lure law-enforcement officers out of buildings so they can assault them with blinding lasers, paint, rocks and other weapons.

Those who don't engage in direct violence cheer them on, assist in "de-arresting" comrades and act as cop watchers. Rioters try, and have succeeded in, breaking into Portland police facilities. Now they're focused on the federal Mark O. Hatfield US Courthouse in response to the Department of Homeland Security sending in reinforcements earlier this month.

Besides the violence and anarchy, what exactly do the rioters want?

As witnessed in the former "autonomous zone" in Seattle, the far-left movement in Portland has no declared "leaders." Social media is used to decide when and where to meet, but rarely what the goal is. One faction or person may make a statement, only to have it be contradicted by another.

On Wednesday night, Mayor Ted Wheeler spoke at one of the protests for the first time. He was heckled by the crowd and a group projected a list of demands on the front of the Justice Center.

"Theodore, fancy seeing you here. These are our demands," the statement read. It called for defunding the Portland Police Bureau by at least 50 percent, freeing all protesters from jail, kicking federal law enforcement out, and Wheeler's resignation.

Despite the radical requests, some took relief because it meant there was something to negotiate on — a possible path to ending seven weeks of violent protests. But the Youth Liberation Front, who led the crowd in shouting expletives at the mayor, didn't agree.

"What is this 'defund at least 50%' s- -t, we're trying to abolish the police here," they quickly tweeted out.

And that's what people need to know about Antifa. They don't make demands because that's working within "the system." Their unambiguous goal is to destroy all American institutions and then the country itself. When they spray-paint or shout, "Burn it down," they really mean it.

The Antifa ideology propagated in extremist zines, booklets and Web sites say the US is so fundamentally wicked that no amount of reform can fix it — it must be abolished. They see law enforcement and military as the bulwark between them and their goal.

The daily riots function to drain the city of resources and to weaken the morale of law enforcement and public officials. It's working.

Last month, Wheeler disbanded the Gun Violence Reduction Unit, claiming it unfairly targeted blacks. In the weeks since, there has been a 380 percent increase in shootings compared with the same time frame last year.

City Councilwoman Jo Ann Hardesty has taken police hatred further. She told Marie Claire magazine this week: "I believe Portland Police [Bureau] is lying about the damage — or starting the fires themselves — so that they have justification for attacking community members." She partially walked back her accusation after Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell, who is black, asked for evidence of her claim.

"Even before the protests started, we were dealing with a catastrophically short-staffed police bureau," says Daryl Turner, president of the Portland Police Association. Going back to 2016, city leaders and Antifa-sympathetic activists have worked to denounce police at every opportunity. The anti-police sentiment in the city has led to early retirements and a policing philosophy of "de-escalation" where cops mostly stay away from riots. Just this year, the bureau has had three different police chiefs.

"We're at a point where none of us knows what to do," says a Portland police officer who asked to be unidentified. "Some are thinking we just need to give the vocal minority and the politicians what they want: We go away and let the city burn."