The Portland Police Department revealed on Sunday that while combing the area outside a federal courthouse that has been the scene of repeated clashes between rioters and police, they discovered loaded rifle magazines and Molotov cocktails that appear to have been left by the rioters.
“On July 26, 2020 while Portland Police were investigating a shots fired call near Lownsdale Square Park,” the police department revealed in a statement, “A passerby pointed out a suspicious bag to them.”
“Police examined the bag and found that it contained loaded rifle magazines and Molotov cocktails.”
The statement reveals that “Police recovered the bag,” and the “origin of this ammunition and these destructive devices is under investigation.” They ask for the public’s help in locating the individual or group responsible for bringing the weapons and ammunition to the riot.
Rioters recently occupied the area outside the federal courthouse, where federal police have been keeping the rioters at bay since President Donald Trump and Attorney General Bill Barr sent them into the city.
After occupying the area, the protesters lowered the American flag, then raised it upside down.
Despite federal police protecting the building under orders from President Donald Trump and Attorney General Bill Barr, protesters were able to lower the American flag, then raise it upside down. At the same time, Antifa reportedly began forcing people to shut down their live streams.
Video shows the flag being raised upside down as sirens, drums, screams, and cheers echoed in the background. After the flag was successfully raised, more cheers and applause erupted.
According to United States Flag Code, the only appropriate time to fly an inverted American flag is as a distress signal during a period of serious danger. Specifically, “The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.”
On Friday night, a black conservative activist and streamer was stabbed while covering the Portland riots, requiring him to be sent to the hospital via ambulance.