Portland, Oregon has endured criminal rioting, vandalism, and assaults in its downtown area for 50 days. Rioters have assaulted police officers with rocks, bottles, fireworks and eye-damaging lasers, and also spray-painted courthouses and other federal buildings -- to scant attention from the liberal press.
Saturday’s New York Times lead story noted the crisis -- but only to fiercely protest recent federal intervention to stop the criminal offenses, while suggesting “fascism” was in play: “To City’s Alarm, Federal Officers Police Portland -- ‘It Feels Like Fascism’ -- Accusations of Exceeding Their Authority and Violating Rights," as reported by Sergio Olmos, Mike Baker, and Zolan Kanno-Youngs.
The online subhead stacked the deck: “Federal authorities said they would bring order to Portland, Ore., after weeks of protests there. Local leaders believe the federal presence is making things worse”:
Federal agents dressed in camouflage and tactical gear have taken to the streets of Portland, unleashing tear gas, bloodying protesters and pulling some people into unmarked vans in what Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon has called “a blatant abuse of power.”
The extraordinary use of federal force in recent days, billed as an attempt to tamp down persistent unrest and protect government property, has infuriated local leaders who say the agents have stoked tensions. “This is an attack on our democracy,” Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland said.
Predictably, the paper took the words of left-wing demonstrators as the unchallenged truth (click "expand"):
One Portland demonstrator, Mark Pettibone, 29, said he had been part of the protests before four people in camouflage jumped out of an unmarked van around 2 a.m. Wednesday. They had no obvious markings or identification, he said, and he had no idea who they were.
(....)
Mr. Pettibone said that he was terrified -- protesters in the city have in the past clashed with far-right militia groups also wearing camouflage and tactical gear -- and that at no point was he told why he was arrested or detained, or what agency the officers were with. He said he was held for about two hours before being released.
“It felt like I was being hunted for no reason,” Mr. Pettibone said. “It feels like fascism.”
If it really was “fascism,” Pettibone wouldn’t be having his say on the front page of the nation’s most respected newspaper:
In a statement issued on Friday, Customs and Border Protection described one case captured on video, saying agents who made an arrest had information that indicated a suspect had assaulted federal authorities or damaged property and that they moved him to a safer location for questioning. The statement, which did not name any suspects, said that the agents identified themselves but that their names were not displayed because of “recent doxxing incidents against law enforcement personnel.”
More on that “doxxing” below.
As usual, the paper ignored the reporting of brave journalist Andy Ngo from the front lines in Portland (it would sooner cast aspersions on his integrity).
Customs and Border Protection released a statement on Portland.
CBP agents had information indicating the person in the video was suspected of assaults against federal agents or destruction of federal property. Once CBP agents approached the suspect, a large and violent mob moved towards their location….The CBP agents identified themselves and were wearing CBP insignia during the encounter. The names of the agents were not displayed due to recent doxing incidents against law enforcement personnel who serve and protect our country.
The Times knows about doxxing. In June 2019, the paper ran an opinion by Kate Cronin-Furman, an assistant professor of human rights at University College London, that favored the doxxing of CBP agents, and even suggested they were not entitled to legal counsel. The paper continues to value Cronin-Furman’s expertise regarding law and order.
