[conspire] Federales in Portland?

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Paul Zander (paulz at ieee.org):

> Part of the problem is the news likes to have the most exciting
> pictures and most dramatic story.  They generally don't just present
> unbiased information.
> 
> The way I heard it from people who live in Portland is that for weeks
> there were protests  They were loud.  They wanted mental health people
> instead of police confronting people with mental problems.  They had a
> list of other common complaints about housing etc.  Basically they
> were peaceful, but they kept it up for several weeks.  Lots of things
> to work out between the protestors, the mayor, the police union, city
> council, etc.
> 
> Then the Federales arrived and created violence.   People in Portland
> wondered if they were suddenly in Argentina.  

This is the way Portland-native Marcus Harwell described the situation,
a few days ago, in a posting to the Skeptic mailing list:


Posting from the ruins of the destroyed city of Portland...

just kidding, there's not much happening outside a 4-block radius around
the Justice Center, 2nd Precinct of the PPB. Our place is a few blocks
west of there, and I hear LRAD announcements and flash-bangs (and
occasional fireworks) every night before bed.

A few locals have reported being bundled into these SUVs and driven
around unable to see where, before being questioned at the Federal
Courthouse next to the JC. Some have been charged, some haven't. 

https://www.opb.org/news/article/federal-law-enforcement-unmarked-vehicles-portland-protesters/

There's a growing list of vehicles the federales/federale-adjacents are
roaming around in, compiled by protesters, but I haven't seen any other
grab-n-go video. 

At the core, demonstrators here are protesting the systemic racism of
the police and legal system. Along with that are advocates for varying
leftist ideals, but that’s a secondary motivation. Also a growing
motivation: increasingly aggressive tactics used by police against
protesters who are mostly just standing out on the street. 

--
Marcus