22 People Arrested and Facing Federal Charges in Portland Protests

The Justice Department on Friday announced that it has arrested 18 people on federal charges for their roles in riots and protests that have raged for weeks near a federal courthouse in Portland.

The U.S. attorney for Oregon announced the charges concerning alleged criminal conduct near the Hatfield Courthouse, which has been under siege by protesters and is being protected by federal law enforcement from the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security.

Charges include assault on federal officers, property damage, trespassing on federal property, arson and failing to comply with lawful orders. All have made first appearances in federal court and were released pending trials or other court proceedings, the DOJ said in a statement.

Court documents said that protests, which have been ongoing for more than 50 days, have often been followed by criminal activity, including assaults on law enforcement, destruction of property, vandalism and arson.

“U.S. Marshals Service deputies and officers from the Federal Protective Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection working to protect the courthouse have been subjected to nightly threats and assaults from demonstrators while performing their duties,” the DOJ said in a press release.

The arrests come amid increasing scrutiny of the federal response to the riots and protests in Portland. While law enforcement officers have been assaulted and doxed, Democrats and other officials have said federal law enforcement have escalated the situation.

Attorney General William Barr has called out the democrats for their refusal to condemn the violence in Portland.

This is a legitimate criticism as one party's refusal to condemn violence will only exacerbate the situation.

Attorney General William P. Barr on Tuesday called out Democrats’ refusal to condemn the violence that has swept across Portland, Oregon, and other American cities.

“What makes me concerned for the country is this is the first time in my memory the leaders of one of our great two political parties, the Democratic Party, are not coming out and condemning mob violence and the attack on federal courts,” Mr. Barr said in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.

“Why can’t we just say violence against federal courts has to stop. Can we hear something like that?” he asked.

Law enforcement officials, including officers holed up in a federal courthouse in downtown Portland, has been under siege for days.

Rioters have gathered nightly to set fire and unleash explosives at the buildings. They have also fired lasers into officers’ eyes, leading to apparent eye damage.

Democrats have instead taken aim at the Trump administration, accusing it of heavy-handed tactics and using federal officers to crack down on peaceful protests.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler on Sunday called Antifa violence “a myth.”

Mr. Barr took aim at the chairman’s comment that the anarchy group’s violence is a myth.

“I don’t think it’s a myth, Antifa can be best thought of as an umbrella term for a movement composed of loosely organized groups around the country,” he said. “They are definitely organized, but since they have an anarchic temperament, they don’t get along very well.”

Barr testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committe on the deployment of federal troops to Portland.

He correctly points out that these rioters are assaulting the government of the United States.