Left-wing rioters have burned a stack of bibles and American flags in front of the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, which houses the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
The rioters immolated the bibles and U.S. flags in a bonfire which also included garbage and wooden panels that had been stolen from local businesses. In doing so, the protesters made the targets of their demonstration clear: the Christian faith, the American nation, the rule of law, and the capitalist system.
The Post Millennial reports that Antifa and Black Lives Matter terrorists barraged the door of the courthouse with a battering ram in order to force their way inside. In addition, they set a pile of refuse located near the exit to the courthouse on fire in an attempt to force the hand of law enforcement protecting the building.
Left-wing activists bring a stack of Bibles to burn in front of the federal courthouse in Portland. https://t.co/lYWY0x8n8P
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) August 1, 2020
More flag burning at the antifa/ BLM gathering in downtown Portland. Video by @FromKalen. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/okngG7eRYK
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) August 1, 2020
Agitators trying to provoke a response from federal officers. Violently battering the door with kicks and using their shield as a battering ram. pic.twitter.com/ULrKT4RQNx
— Kalen From Scriberr (@FromKalen) August 1, 2020
Conservatives were naturally sickened by the leftists’ anti-Christian demonstration.
“I don’t know what burning the Bible has to do with protesting against police brutality,” wrote Ian Miles Cheong, the managing editor of conservative publication Human Events.
“Do not be under the illusion that these protests and riots are anything but an attempt to dismantle all of Western Civilization and upend centuries of tradition and freedom of religion.”
The Post Millennial’s Andy Ngo, who was on the ground in Portland during the rioting, described the scene. He claimed that rioters were being allowed to engage in destructive behavior by the local police, who had been directed not to arrest them:
“Rioters at gathering in Portland are tearing off barricades of an arcade nearby federal courthouse. Portland Police are aware but will let them continue because they’re given directive to leave rioters alone in most circumstances,” reported The Post Millennial’s Andy Ngo. “Black bloc militants in downtown Portland are trying to break into a business near the federal courthouse at the peaceful protest. They’re prying off the wood that is covering glass window.”
Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf has taken a strong federal stance against the violent insurrection that has ensued in Portland.
“The Department will continue to maintain our current, augmented federal law enforcement personnel in Portland until we are assured that the Hatfield Federal Courthouse and other federal properties will no longer be attacked and that the seat of justice in Portland will remain secure,” Wolf said in a Wednesday statement.
He reiterated a zero-tolerance policy by the Department of Homeland Security towards the rioters.
“President Trump and this Administration have been consistent in our message throughout the violence in Portland: the violent criminal activity directed towards federal properties and law enforcement will not be tolerated, state and local leaders must step forward and police their communities, and the Department of Homeland Security will not back down from our legal duty to protect federal law enforcement officers and federal properties in the face of such criminal behavior,” he added.
