Are protestors really the ones behind all this violence and property damage?

[Amy-Strange]

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Some LEO (Law Enforcement Officers) could be behind some of these acts, so they have an excuse to get rough.

I mean, if some of them are willing to kill black men and women, I don't see what would stop them from throwing rocks and water bottles, especially since a lot of the protestors are wearing mask.
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[Karadeniz]

1. I think they are US Nazis, those fine people. They would be the ones trying to discredit

Protests on behalf of equality, especially focusing on blacks. Three such people, I read, were arrested in Las Vegas for plotting terrorist activities. Trump and Barr keep mentioning antifa, anti fascists, who would be against white supremacy, because they protect the white supremacists, part of their base.

[Amy-Strange]

3. Could be, but...

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I'm not sure. It was just me speculating like I always do, but thanx for the input.
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[CentralMass]

2. Having watched several hours of live coverage of the protest and riots here in Portland

I don't think that right wing plants or groups are involved in these protests. The events start off peacefully and productively early and after this peaceful events are over some protesters stick around and more join them as the evening. The violence comes later in the evening. The worst rioting on Friday seemed organic. There was a lot of vandalism and looting that night. There is a violent a
element of the group that is bent on destruction. The looting looked like old fashion opportunistic looting and there were tv crews showing it live as it happened.
Here are few links on some arrests that were made.


https://www.koin.com/news/crime/portland-riots-arrests-george-floyd-protests-05302020/

https://www.kptv.com/news/ppb-13-people-arrested-for-rioting-and-looting-in-downtown-portland/article_a8f19418-a289-11ea-a9f8-afc7477defa6.html

http://katu.com/news/local/more-than-60-arrested-in-weekend-portland-protests

[Amy-Strange]

4. I wasn't really refering to the looting, but...

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you are right that most of the property damage and looting happened later, but not all of it did, and if you know anything about crowd psychology, you'd know that all you'd need, in a volatile situation like that, is for one person to throw one water bottle and... well, I'm sure you can figure it out.

Like I said, this is just me speculating outside the box, but thanx for the input.
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[CentralMass]

5. I understand and I am not saying that your speculation is a farfetched idea.

My two cents. I moved to Oregon and the very end of 2014. I am not exactly knowledgable on the the city or it history. After events of the last several years I know a little. The first notable riot since I've been here was in 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Portland,_Oregon_riots
'On November 10, 2016, three days of protests in Portland, Oregon, turned into a riot, when a group of anarchists[2][7] broke off from a larger group of peaceful protesters who were opposed to the election of Donald Trump."
There was quite a bit of violence and vandalism at that riot, there are some details in that article. The perpetrators of the vandalism from memory appeared to a masked wearing club wielding group that dressed in black. I think they were referred to as an anarchist group but it wasn't clear to me from the coverage if
they were Antifafa, Anarchists, or non of the above. There did not appear to be any far-right presence at that Nov 2016 rally.

There is a far-left Antifa group out here known as Rose City Antifa that has been been around since 2007.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_City_Antifa
Formation
2007; 13 years ago
Founded at
Portland, Oregon, United States
Affiliations
Anti-Racist ActionAnarchist Black Cross
Website
rosecityantifa.org

and on the other side a far-right group called Patriot Prayer that formed in 2016
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_Prayer
Another far-right group known as the 3 Percenters are referenced in that last link.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Percenters
The article states that rhe group provided security for a 2017 event held by Patriot Prayer called "Rally for Trump and Freedom".
So the far-right groups entered into the mix in 2017 with that Patriot Prayer meeting and set the stage for the groups counter protesting.
From what I can see it is a far-left fringe that has been responsible for the rioting and vandalism in the Portland events of the last ~4 years. They far-right groups came into counter-protest and stir the pot..
I guess some may say that the riots are justified or necessary to effect social change. I'm not sure where I stand on that but I know that the they are destructive and disruptive and harmful to Portland. Portland is a blue relatively progressive city imo not perfect but one who voted for Hillary Clinton. Not a likely target of anti-tRump violence.

The recent riots dont seem to have any obvious far-right attendance. It sort of makes sense to me that with hundreds and in some cases thousand of left side rally/protest attendees far-right groups might not exactly be welcomed.

[Amy-Strange]

6. Same here in Seattle--the WTO riots in 1999

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It's rumored up here in Seattle (nobody really knows for sure) that an anarchist group from Oregon came up and started all the trouble, and some people also think that it's what started the riots, like a chain reaction.

I was here and had to walk through downtown right after they gassed everybody up to Capital Hill, correction, I had to walk AROUND downtown in order to get home, and to be honest, I could see how people would think that.

The police here were different before those riots. I don't know, Mayor Rice was gone and we just got a new Police chief, and not long after that, the Mayor (or City Council, can't remember which) made it against the law to wear a gas mask in public, and don't get me started on the anti-poster and anti-homeless laws that have been enacted since I've moved here.

I try not to be a total conspiracy nut (my landlord is), but I mean, it's possible that LE has something to do with how all this is turning out, because, well, they started it, and maybe one or two dozen rebel officers might be involved in the riots somehow, or in someway... maybe, but all of law enforcement?*

I doubt it very much, because it's too much of a blanket statement to be true, but I'm willing to listen to opposing views.

That's what happens when I try and think outside the box. Sometimes, it's crap, but most of the time... it's very helpful.

Oh, and thanx for all the info on the groups.
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*psst… (down here) I know you weren't talking about LE. I was referring to my own speculation about them.
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