Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) of Portland, Oregon, promised Tuesday that police would remove radical left-wing protesters from an area they had occupied in the city: “There will be no autonomous zone in Portland.”
As Breitbart News reported, anti-eviction protesters attacked police officers on Tuesday and set up an “autonomous zone” at the “Red House” Tuesday, setting up barricades.
Wheeler, who supported the violent Black Lives Matter protest outside a federal courthouse this summer, and who had to move away from the city after rioters targeted his apartment building, sent a signal that he will not allow Portland to repeat Seattle’s “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” (CHAZ) experience. He tweeted:
It’s time for the encampment and occupation to end. There are many ways to protest and work toward needed reform. Illegally occupying private property, openly carrying weapons, threatening and intimidating people are not among them.
— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) December 9, 2020
We all agree many of our nation’s systems and structures are fundamentally racist and require significant reform. There’s a housing crisis, a health care crisis, an education crisis, an employment crisis, a mental health crisis, and an addiction crisis.
— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) December 9, 2020
All of these crises are magnified in urban areas, including Portland. And, these crises disproportionately impact Black people.
— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) December 9, 2020
It’s also true that illegal trespassing, ignoring lawful orders from police, blocking sidewalks and streets, and intimidating neighbors inflame these crises and make them more difficult to solve. That is what’s happening on North Mississippi Avenue right now.
— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) December 9, 2020
There was a lengthy, thorough judicial proceeding resulting in a lawful judge’s order to evict people illegally occupying a home. Multnomah County chose the time, place and manner of the eviction and Portland Police provided support.
— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) December 9, 2020
It’s time for the encampment and occupation to end. There are many ways to protest and work toward needed reform. Illegally occupying private property, openly carrying weapons, threatening and intimidating people are not among them.
— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) December 9, 2020
The CHAZ (or CHOP, for Capitol Hill Occupied Protest) took over six blocks in Seattle for several weeks allowing lawlessness — even homicide — before it was finally cleared by police after local officials decided to act.
Author: Joel B. Pollak
Source: Breitbart: Democrat Mayor Ted Wheeler Vows: ‘There Will Be No Autonomous Zone in Portland’
