Free Republic

President Donald Trump criticized CNN on Monday after a reporter asked him to condemn his supporters who were in Portland on Saturday night. During a White House press conference with the president, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins asked Trump to condemn a group of his supporters who traveled to Portland for a counter-protest on Saturday night. Some of Trump’s supporters were reportedly firing paintball guns at protesters from their pickup trucks as leftists threw objects and debris at them. Aaron J. Danielson of Portland, identified as a Trump supporter, was shot dead during the clash between the different groups.

City workers built a wall of concrete blocks to fortify the police department’s East Precinct on Friday, following a suspected arson attack this week while officers were inside the building. The barrier wraps around the building at 11th Avenue and Pine Street — where during confrontations this spring, police temporarily abandoned the precinct, while demonstrators set up the Capitol Hill Organized Protest or “CHOP” on the street and Cal Anderson Park, before the city retook the territory in early July. “Officers will continue to be stationed in the precinct and respond to 9-1-1 calls in the area,” a city statement...

On Friday, Evita Duffy of The Federalist spoke with more Kenosha locals about the outburst of violence that rocked the town this week, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, and captured the National Guard heading towards the city that afternoon. Kenosha Locals SPEAK OUT About Riots (4 min video) Additional Interviews: Sam is an Indian immigrant who owns a family-run car dealership that was destroyed by BLM arsonists. “What did we do to deserve all this?” said Sam. Sam told The Federalist his family has been “in tears” the last few days. BLM rioters burned his lot two nights...

SNIP What would you say to people who are concerned about essential places like grocery stores or pharmacies being attacked in those communities? When it comes to small business, family owned business or locally owned business, they are no more likely to provide worker protections. They are no more likely to have to provide good stuff for the community than big businesses. It's actually a Republican myth that has, over the last 20 years, really crawled into even leftist discourse: that the small business owner must be respected, that the small business owner creates jobs and is part of the...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday that 74 people are facing federal charges stemming from clashes in Portland, Ore., amid protests over systemic racism and police brutality. Portland’s months long demonstrations, sparked by the killings of Black Americans like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, have largely been peaceful, though have at times turned violent and led to looting and clashes with law enforcement, including federal agents deployed to the city this summer to protect federal property. “Violent agitators have hijacked any semblance of First Amendment protected activity, engaging in violent criminal acts and destruction of public safety,” U.S. Attorney...

A group of Black Lives Matter activists were caught on video in three separate instances harassing diners at Washington, D.C., restaurants on Monday who refused their demand to raise a fist in solidarity. A lone woman, in one video, is seen surrounded by white activists raising their fists and shouting: "White silence is violence! White silence is violence!" Later, they chant, "No justice, no peace!"

Rocks and bottles were thrown, paintball guns fired, and lasers targeted officers during a riot Saturday night into Sunday morning. On August 22,, 2020, a group of about 250 people gathered at Normandale Park at Northeast 57th Avenue and Northeast Halsey Street. At about 9:15p.m, the gathering proceeded to march to the south. Many participants in the march carried hardened shields, helmets, armor, gas masks, and wore all black clothing. At least one participant targeted the Portland Police Air Support Unit airplane with a green laser. This is extremely dangerous and could cause disorientation for the pilot, in addition to...

Federal agents in Bend, Ore., clashed with hundreds of protesters late Wednesday night after an hourslong standoff sparked by the arrest of two men by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, who said they were a "threat to the public." Bend's episode, which is about a three-hour drive from Portland, was the latest in tensions among protesters, local police and federal agents.The protest spanned hours, as two unmarked ICE buses were blocked by protesters who apparently witnessed the arrests. Shortly before midnight, federal agents removed the two detained men from a bus and left the scene. The protesters also dispersed,...

the genuinely privileged class in America’s big cities consists of radical progressives, who flout mask requirements at mass demonstrations, deface public property with graffiti, and riot and destroy while being called “mostly peaceful demonstrators.” ... The two rioters grabbed national attention when they were arrested because of their elite and privileged backgrounds. ... Colinford Mattis.. embodies elite credentials via affirmative action, “plucked” in Miller’s word, from East New York and educated at elite St. Andrew’s prep, Princeton (where he was a member of two elite eating clubs), and NYU Law. Urooj Rahman, born in Pakistan and brought to the USA...

Eight Pennsylvanians have been federally charged with criminal activity during protests in downtown Pittsburgh at the end of May, U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said Wednesday. Prosecutors allege the charged people engaged in violent demonstrations on May 30 as others peacefully demonstrated as part of protests over the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. "Throwing [improvised explosive devices] IEDs and bricks at police officers, throwing projectiles at and striking police horses, and setting police cruisers on fire are not the protected First Amendment activities of a peaceful protest; they are criminal acts that violate federal law," Brady said in a...

U.S. court officials in Oregon are reviewing bans on future protesting that were placed on some people arrested during protests in Portland after some raised concerns that the prohibitions violated the First Amendment. “We’re reviewing every case again right now and looking at the wording of some of the conditions,” Brian Crist, chief pretrial services officer for the U.S. District Court in Portland, said Wednesday. “A lot of this I think will be resolved.” Crist said he couldn’t comment on individual cases, but he noted the court looks at each defendant individually and doesn’t have “blanket conditions” that are placed...

A total of 22 people are facing federal charges in connection to the protests in Portland, Ore., federal officials announced Monday. U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams announced that 22 people were charged with criminal conduct between July 23 and July 27. Demonstrations in Portland have persisted since George Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody on May 26. Court documents allege criminal activity has broken out at night outside the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, including assaults on law enforcement officers, destruction of property, looting, arson and vandalism. A release from Williams’s office said that federal authorities from the U.S. Marshals...

Seattle radio host and Twitter-based criminal defense advocate Paul Gallant "dunked" on President Donald Trump last month by denying that the riots are violent, then the radio host was scored on by rioters who set fire to his apartment. Now he's taking up arms. ... "Walked through it last night out of curiosity and saw no burning, pillaging, or deaths," Gallant responded in June to Trump's tweet calling out the violent leftists who continue to terrorize Seattle. "Chill dawg," Gallant added sarcastically. ... Last night, Gallant had a sudden change of heart towards the "peaceful protestors" when he came home...

Let blue cities and their feckless leaders reckon with the destruction of the violence and looting. Remember all those “peaceful protestors,” later amended to “mostly peaceful protestors”? You probably recall, also, the Main Stream Media’s determined effort to portray the people in the streets protesting the death of George Floyd as nothing but well-meaning reformers—until pictures and video made the spin wear thin. Indeed, now even Democratic politicians are conceding that this wasn’t the “summer of love.” With costly reality staring him in the face, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, on July 2, sent a letter to President Trump, formally requesting...

A driver who struck and killing a Seattle woman with a car during a protest Saturday was charged Wednesday with vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and reckless driving, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Dawit Kelete is being held with bail set at $1.2 million and is expected to remain in jail, according to the prosecuting attorney’s office. The crash is still being investigated by State Patrol and the FBI and the prosecuting attorney’s office said it may add or amend charges based on the investigation. "Today the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges against Dawit Kelete for...

Far-left protesters burned an American flag near the White House on Saturday and chanted, "America was never great" moments after President Trump finished delivering a speech at the "Salute to America" Independence Day celebration. Video shows the flag being burned in Black Lives Matter Plaza, just outside the White House. Activists can be heard chanting, "One, two, three, four, slavery, genocide and war. Five, six, seven, eight, America was never great."The flag burning was organized by the Revolutionary Communist Party. A speak-out before the event was held by Refuse Fascism, which also held protests nationwide on July Fourth calling for...

A car drove onto a closed freeway early Saturday and struck two people in a crowd protesting against police brutality, killing one and critically injuring the other, authorities said. Summer Taylor, 24, of Seattle died in the evening at Harborview Medical Center, spokesperson Susan Gregg said. SNIP Dawit Kelete of Seattle drove the car around vehicles that were blocking I-5 and sped into the crowd about 1:40 a.m., according to a police report released by the Washington State Patrol. Video taken at the scene by protesters showed people shouting “Car! Car!” before fleeing the roadway. Love is in serious condition...

Yet, we seem to have moved on from Minneapolis, or at least covering the extend to the destruction of the city. Michael Tracey decided to venture into Mill town, braving threats of violence from Antifa. Tracey, who conducted interviews with folks sifting through the rubble of their community, noted that minorities hate Antifa, but that’s beside the point. In a lengthy Twitter thread a few days ago, he documented the aftermath and it’s eye-opening. We knew it was going to be based off what Rosas saw the night all of this went down. Julio is a veteran of covering such...

The Seattle Police Department (SPD) moved into the "Capitol Hill Organized Protest" (CHOP) zone and returned to the department's East Precinct early Wednesday morning. The precinct was evacuated on June 11. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan issued a 48-hour executive order for protestors to vacate the area due to the ongoing violence and public safety issues in the area of the East Precinct and Cal Anderson Park. Mayor Durkan's order declared the gathering as an “unlawful assembly” that required immediate action. Police moved into the CHOP just before 5 a.m. and issued a dispersal order to any protestors in the area....

Three women were shot, one fatally, at a vigil held for a shooting victim in Long Beach Monday evening, police said. Long Beach police said gunfire erupted around 9 p.m. in the 5800 block of Orange Avenue, near South Street. A crowd was gathered at a vigil for a man fatally shot in the same area Sunday evening. Officers responded and found three victims - all women - with gunshot wounds. They were transported to a hospital, where one died. One victim is hospitalized in critical condition, while the other woman is in stable condition. Investigators were interviewing witnesses. Police...