Eyewitness: The Portland "War Zone"

"It's anarchy out there."

"A burning hellhole."

"The radical left's reign of terror."

"War-ravaged. On fire. Bombed-out."

President Trump's description of Portland matters.

It is the factual basis to justify a major constitutional showdown. Maybe all that matters is a president's claim of his state of mind. If a president says there is an emergency the courts may feel required to give deference to his determination. The executive is presumed to operate in good faith, even if he does not. 

Is pretext enough? Can a misinformed opinion or a bald-faced lie be the basis for replacing state authority with federal authority? If so, it allows a profound change in our federal system. Do facts on the ground matter at all? They mattered to a Trump-appointed district court judge. She said there was no insurrection, but she may be overruled on appeal to a Supreme Court that is inclined to give this president whatever latitude he wants.

There is also the court of public opinion. Trump may appear dishonest and silly claiming "insurrection" in the face of protesters costumed as dancing frogs and unicorns. If those troops come across as thugs it may persuade a few more voters that Trump is an out-of-control tyrant.

Stine, with finishers medal

Kevin Stine traveled to Portland to run in the Portland Marathon. While there he did workout runs from his hotel to the ICE facility. He sent me a report. Stine is a Navy veteran. He has been a member of the Medford City Council for over 10 years. He is a substitute teacher in the public schools and is currently earning his masters degree in education at Southern Oregon University. If incumbent State Senator Jeff Golden chooses not to run for re-election, I expect Stine to file for election to succeed him.

Guest Post by Kevin Stine

I was on site at the most famous Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in the United States, the one located in Portland, Oregon. I was in the city for a multi-day conference, and took the opportunity to go to the ICE building on October 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

Locals were posting up wholesome videos across Portland of the supposedly "war-ravaged" city. Even daytime photos of the ICE building showed few people protesting, and definitely not anything on fire, or chaos. A popular response to these images was that if you go at night, then you'll see how crazy it is out there. Great. I'm a night owl and I run every day. The ICE building was a nice 1.5 miles away from the hotel, a perfect distance for a daily down-and-back.

I didn't know what to expect.

What I saw when I first got there was --  not much. On Wednesday night around 8:30. I saw about 30 people at the ICE building. Are these people trying to burn down the ICE building? No. Are they blocking traffic? No. Does it seem the least bit dangerous? Also, no. What I see is a bunch of people like me, just standing around looking.

I take photos. There is graffiti and a large "Abolish ICE" banner. The banner was gone when I came back on Thursday. I saw a memorial with flowers that says "Remember the Taken." Every night I was there, a few people with megaphones were randomly shouting at the ICE personnel who were standing on the roof of the building. It's a one-sided conversation.

There are counter-protesters as well. A guy with a Charlie Kirk "Freedom" shirt and a MAGA hat was live-streaming the first two nights I was there. He was loud and was baiting others to engage with him. In the digital age this is like a sport. If the man were to be attacked in some way, he becomes an instant celebrity. For the protest side, the guy in the chicken suit was there every night. I briefly spoke with a friendly woman in a Stitch costume. She said she is friends with the guy in the chicken suit.

Thursday and Friday are mostly the same, although the Friday crowd was bigger. I posted a video of the three nights on YouTube. https://youtu.be/hoc2VXbhujU

There are news crews live-streaming. Some set up tripods with their phone attached and recording, and just left them there unattended while they walked around. I'm not saying that nothing noteworthy is ever happening, but this isn't urban mayhem. Video cameras get a few good clips, like the guy who allegedly put paint on the building and was caught, and then was videoed having some sort of breakdown. This video action is like crack for conservative news, and it keeps the story humming along. 

Finally, on Friday, I saw Portland police near the building. Two sets of police were stationed in locations outside of where the protesters were, but visible and prepared. Nobody was bothering them. Many of the comments from Trump and his supporters are about the Portland police refusing to do anything. It's a touchy subject because there aren't major crimes occurring, and over-policing matters like violating a noise ordinance by using a megaphone might make the situation worse. I don't believe giving a bunch of municipal code violation tickets would improve the situation.

The claims of Trump and others about a war-zone Portland are false. I see no reason for troops. 

My exploration of Portland included the 26.2 miles of the Portland Marathon on Sunday. I was able to escape the chaos, death, and destruction, but that hill at Mile 22 was murder.

 

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