Far-left activists vandalized buildings and clashed with police in the Pacific Northwest on Jan. 20, voicing their opposition to the government, law enforcement, and the freshly sworn-in President Joe Biden, with some carrying signs reading, “We are ungovernable.”
In Portland, black-clad activists with their faces covered broke windows and the glass door at the Democratic Party of Oregon business office, spray-painting an anarchist symbol over the party sign, video posted on social media showed. Some of them tipped over garbage containers and lit the contents on fire, according to reports.
“We don’t want Biden. We want revenge for police murders, imperialist wars, and fascist massacres,” read a banner they marched under, while others carried a banner saying, “We are not governable,” which was dotted with anarchy symbols.
Portland Police confronted a crowd that gathered outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement building near downtown, with some in the crowd later burning a flag in the street.
According to KATU, the protest was billed as a demonstration against the Biden inauguration and law enforcement. At one point, demonstrators were approached by Portland Police officers on bicycles, with some people in the group taking an officer’s bike and throwing objects at retreating police.
Eight people were arrested in Portland on charges that include rioting and reckless burning.
Activists attend a rally after the inauguration of President Joe Biden, in Portland, Ore., on Jan. 20, 2021. Lindsey Wasson/Reuters
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.
Police announced that two people were arrested during the unrest, one for property damage and another for assault.
Officers made a third arrest later in the evening after the glass storefront was shattered at the Starbucks in Pike Place Market, according to KOMO.
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
Reporter
Tom Ozimek is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times. He has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communications, and adult education.
