Sen. Wyden Condemns Inauguration Day Riots in Home State, Oregon

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 29, 2015. Lauren Victoria Burke/AP Photo

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) condemned the riots by anarcho-communist activists across Portland on Inauguration Day.

“I repudiate it in every form possible—violence in any form. Violence from any corridor is wrong,” Wyden told The Washington Examiner on Friday.

Some Republicans denounced the fact that their Democratic counterparts didn’t condemn the riots in Portland and Seattle even though they castigated the Jan. 6 Capitol breach sharply, saying, in some cases, that former President Donald Trump and other Republicans encouraged it.

“I’m waiting for Pres Biden to condemn violence/looting/arson last two days in Oregon & Washington state,” wrote Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Thursday.

Antifa members broke the glass door and windows at the Democratic Party business office in Oregon, spray-painting an anarchist symbol over the party sign. Garbage cans around were toppled and lit on fire, according to reports. Antifa activists marched along banners that read, “We don’t want Biden. We want revenge for police murders, imperialist wars, and fascist massacres,” and “We are not governable,” along with numerous anarchy symbols.

Mugshots of rioters arrested by Portland police in Portland, Ore., on Jan. 20, 2021. Portland Police Department

The Democratic Party of Oregon released a statement following the violence.

“We’re frustrated and disappointed about the damage done to our Democratic Party of Oregon Headquarters in Portland this afternoon. We’re thankful that none of our staff were in the building at the time. This is not the first time our building has been vandalized during the past year—none of the prior incidents have deterred us from our important work to elect Democrats up and down the ballot, and this one will be no different.”

Portland police confronted a crowd that gathered outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement building near downtown, with some in the crowd later burning an American flag in the street.

Multiple windows were shattered at the William Kenzo Nakamura Courthouse in Seattle, Wash., on Jan. 20, 2021. Seattle Police Department

In Seattle, Antifa activists marched into the iconic Pike Place Market to smash up property, with video from the scene showing broken windows in a Starbucks. A group of black-clad activists marched along the street, kicking over garbage containers, carrying a tattered American flag with the anarchy sign spray-painted on it.

Some spray-painted buildings with an anarchist symbol and smashed windows, including at the William Kenzo Nakamura Courthouse, a federal building, according to KOMO.

“No Cops, Prisons, Borders, Presidents,” read one banner that they marched under, according to reports from the scene.

Police announced that two people were arrested during the unrest, one for property damage and another for assault.

After the riots, Twitter suspended several Antifa accounts.

One of the most prominent accounts that were suspended was “The Base,” a bookstore in Brooklyn, New York, where Antifa would train new recruits for the radical activist group, according to independent journalist Andy Ngo.

The sum of all the accounts would add up to about 70,000 followers. Some of the earliest accounts have been on Twitter since 2012.

Seattle and Portland have been the scene of unrest for months, with a mix of protesters—including anarchists, Antifa, and other far-left groups, as well as civil rights activists—voicing various grievances and sometimes engaging in violence, damaging property, and clashing with police.

Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.