About $2.3 million worth of federal property has been damaged as a result of the riots caused by Antifa, a U.S. Attorney for Oregon estimated.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, Billy J. Williams has released an estimate on the cost to repair the immense damage that Antifa riots have caused over the last months in Portland. The largest and most populous city in Oregon is currently looking at a $2.3 million bill just to repair the federal property destroyed or damaged in the continued protests fueled by the Antifa movement, Breitbart reported.
Among the federal property that Antifa damaged is the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, where the nightly protests were centered, as well as Portland's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building, the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building, the Gus J. Solomon U.S. Courthouse, and the Pioneer Courthouse.
Repairs are believed to fetch millions in costs. Such riots were met with police and counterprotesters until President Trump sent federal officers to fortify the building after Antifa damaged millions worth of property through vandalism.
FOX News reported that during the destructive riots, Antifa activists threw Molotov cocktails and commercial-grade fireworks laced with nails at police, broke windows and painted graffiti on different buildings that were federal property. Rioters were also armed with stun guns, pepper ball guns, and fireworks as they scuffled with law enforcement. The insurgents also reportedly attacked several local businesses, vandalized or toppled statues, burned the U.S. flag, and attacked counterprotesters.
ABC News reported that following the Jan. 20 inauguration, about 150 people marched to the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Oregon and vandalized their headquarters. Eight persons aged 18 to 38 were arrested, but protests continued into the evening when rioters vandalized the ICE field office that is federal property.
The Antifa demonstrators carried signs opposing the government, police, immigration officers, and other forms of authority. They blatantly committed vandalism, throwing out garbage containers and lighting them on fire, as well as breaking windows. One group carried a sign that said, "We are ungovernable."
Out of the 15 individuals arrested during the Antifa protests that have now caused about $2.3 million in federal property damage, two of them have previous arrest records relating to crimes at protests. Davis Alan Beeman, a 38-year-old from Washington was previously arrested in August 2020 during a riot, while Justin Bowen, a 25-year-old from Oregon both have previous riot arrest records dating back to August 2020.
President Biden has yet to address the $2.3 million's worth of federal property damage that Antifa has caused over the course of the last few months.
Mayor Stan Pulliam told FOX News that Oregon is "starting to look like a completely different city than the one I know and love." He claimed that these riots instigated by Antifa perfectly show what a "culture of criminality" looks like.
"This is defund the police," he said, emphasizing what the lack of law enforcement will result in.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki noted the actions of the Antifa rioters who damaged both private and federal property, without actually pinning the blame on Antifa.
"Peaceful protests are a cornerstone of our democracy but smashing windows is not protesting and neither is looting. Actions like these are totally unacceptable," she said.
