Federal troops helping suppress protests in Portland OR

[Angry Floof]

Richmond riots instigated by white supremacists disguised as Black Lives Matter

RICHMOND, Va. – Riots in downtown Richmond over the weekend were instigated by white supremacists under the guise of Black Lives Matter, according to law enforcement officials.

Protesters tore down police tape and pushed forward toward Richmond police headquarters, where they set a city dump truck on fire.

Police declared the event an “unlawful assembly” and ordered people to leave, later deploying tear gas.

Six people were arrested. The mayor of Richmond thanked the Black Lives Matter protesters he said tried to stop the white supremacists from spearheading the violence.

hmmm

View attachment 28732

What were the charges against each of those people? Unlawful assembly? Trespassing? Rioting? Something to do with firearms? Which ones were claimed to be white supremacists?

 

[Angry Floof]

 

[lpetrich]

ABC UNITY PROJECT on Instagram: “Yesterday, we talked about Portland. …”

Yesterday, we talked about Portland. Here is AOC on Customs and Border Protection (CBP) & Habeas Corpus and how it relates to what is happening right now:

️CBP has an annual budget of $14 mil & has a known history of using excessive force and lacking accountability.
️What’s happening in Portland is essentially a violation of Habeas Corpus.
️This is contrary to the fight for civil rights and constitutional freedoms.

The text in the pictures:

CBP lacks accountability (Customs & Border Protection)

"Border patrol...[sees] itself as a militarized force, and that aspiration is now being enabled by the current administration,"

The Guardian / James Tomsheck
Former Top Internal Affairs Investigator inside US Custons And Border Protection

Habeas Corpus

"Guarantees that a person who has been arrested has the right to go before a court a have them decide whether the arrest is legal. If the court finds that a person was detained illegally, that person must be set free."

-- Cliff Notes

"By dispatching federal agents to portland and potentially rolling [it] out to other cities... the US President has turned his dystopian oratory into political reality.'

The Guardian / James Tomsheck
Former Top Internal Affairs Investigator inside US Custons And Border Protection

Quoting AOC in the video segments:

"This Administration has been using immigrants as a guinea pig for how much our civil liberties could be violated."

"The moment we said we could do that to others, we set the stage to do that to ourselves."

"The moment you allow it to happen to any human being, you open the door for it to happen to someone you love."

"Freedom doesn't mean you can walk into Trader Joe's and abuse a worker because you don't want to wear a mask."

 

[repoman]

View attachment 28733

In the head with a gun

https://twitter.com/AntifaWatch2/status/1288097937780867072

https://kdvr.com/news/disabled-veteran-shot-by-defense-attorney-at-alamosa-protest-area/

 

[lpetrich]

Ocasio-Cortez clips n' memes on Instagram: “CONGRESSWOMAN Alexandria speaks about how accepting that some peoples rights being violated can lead to your rights being violated without accountability.”

Pramila Jayapal Exposes William Barr's Hypocrisy on Protest Response - Rolling Stone

Attorney General William Barr appeared before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to answer for the Trump administration’s move to invade cities like Portland, Oregon, where federal agents have recently been brutalizing demonstrators. ...

Jayapal began by asking Barr whether he felt it was appropriate to order federal officers to “tear gas, pepper spray, and beat protesters” in Lafayette Park, in Washington, D.C., so that President Trump could walk to St. John’s Church to brandish a Bible for a photo op, Barr ignored the question to dispute whether tear gas was used. Jayapal rightly pointed out that this is a semantic distinction that has been widely debunked. ...

Jayapal then brought up comments Trump made to governors about the need to “dominate” Black Lives Matter demonstrators, noting that he was going to “activate” Barr “strongly” to handle the issue. But as Jayapal notes, Barr was in no way activated to tamp down protests against stay-at-home orders during the pandemic, because those protesters were pushing Trump’s agenda to get the economy up and running. Never mind that many of those protesters were armed, sporting Swastikas, Confederate flags, and, in Michigan, calling for Governor Gretchen Whitmer to be lynched.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal vs. Atty. Gnl. William Barr
Timothy Burke on Twitter: "Well, this was remarkable. https://t.co/bqidB7XBZm" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

aída chávez on Twitter: "NEW: @AOC and @tedlieu introduce an amendment to curtail the Trump administration's use of force, which has been flooding cities across the U.S. with federal agents (link to article) by me" / Twitter
noting
AOC House Amendment Would Curtail Protest Crackdown

While the Trump administration has framed the dispatching of secret police as efforts meant “to help state and local officials fight the surge of violent crime,” critics such as Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner have called the tactics “fascist.”

The measure, which was filed as an amendment to the upcoming House Appropriations bill, is co-sponsored by Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib, of Michigan, Deb Haaland of New Mexico, and Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri. The House Rules Committee is meeting today to decide which of the hundreds of amendments filed will be considered for a minibus spending package this week.

“I thank Rep. Lieu for co-leading this important amendment,” said Rep. Ocasio-Cortez in a statement. “Federal law enforcement officers are snatching Americans off of street corners and placing them into unmarked cars for the ‘crime’ of exercising their First Amendment rights. The United States of America should not have secret police. The idea that these federal law enforcement officers are there to protect Americans is a farce. In his testimony today, Attorney General Bill Barr made clear once again that his only priority is to reelect the President, not to protect the American people.”

Ron Wyden on Twitter: "NEW: @SenJeffMerkley and I are calling on Congressional leaders to prohibit DHS and DOJ from using taxpayer dollars to infringe on Americans’ constitutional rights. Congress must stop Donald Trump from deploying his fascist tactics around the country. This is the way to do it. https://t.co/zIt3MWzDJi" / Twitter

The amendment: untitled - LIEU_104_xml723201624232423.pdf

AMENDMENT TO DIVISION B OF RULES COMMITTEE PRINT 116-60 OFFERED BY MR. TED LIEU OF CALIFORNIA
At the end of division B (before the short title), insert the following:
SEC. ___. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used for Operation Legend or Operation Relentless Pursuit.

From The Intercept,

Attorney General William Barr announced the launch of Operation Relentless Pursuit, which committed at least $71 million in funding to bulk up law enforcement, in December 2019. Operation Legend, meanwhile, has been used to send federal agents to assist police officers.

 

[lpetrich]

ACLU on Twitter: "BREAKING: We're receiving reports that at least one protester was abducted off the streets today by unmarked “officers” — this time in New York City.
These dangerous, abusive, and indefensible actions must stop. Law enforcement must be held accountable. https://t.co/I9VQo4Tvbx" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Our civil liberties are on brink.
This is not a drill. There is no excuse for snatching women off the street and throwing them into unmarked vans.
To not protect our rights is to give them away. It is our responsibility to resist authoritarianism." / Twitter

BrooklynDad_Defiant! on Twitter: "@AOC Your colleague, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, was 100% right when she pressed Bill Barr.
AND SO ARE YOU -- WE MUST RESIST! #SheGotItRight https://t.co/bTJrDWtMax" / Twitter

 

[marc]

Leaked DHS document undercuts Trump’s portrayal of antifa as a deadly nationwide menace

internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent shows that there is no mention of antifa in the agency’s assessment of the biggest “protest-related” threats to law enforcement officials.

Instead, the document lists anti-government demonstrators who tend to fall on the right-wing side of the spectrum, as well as anarchist demonstrators who are more left wing.

 

[marc]

Anti-fascists linked to zero murders in the US in 25 years

A new database of nearly 900 politically motivated attacks and plots in the United States since 1994 includes just one attack staged by an anti-fascist that led to fatalities. In that case, the single person killed was the perpetrator.

Over the same time period, American white supremacists and other rightwing extremists have carried out attacks that left at least 329 victims dead, according to the database.

 

[Worldtraveller]

Is there also a thread about white supremacists looting and damaging property during protests?

Police: 'Umbrella Man' was a white supremacist trying to incite George Floyd rioting

I'm not buying this story from the police.

This guy was outed over a month ago as a MPD officer (which doesn't preclude the white supremacist aspect), and now the MPD come out with this story and won't disclose the identity.

Ferfucksake, even the guy's ex-wife was confirming it was him.

https://twitter.com/dyllyp/status/1266107862918377472

 

[KeepTalking]

View attachment 28733

In the head with a gun

https://twitter.com/AntifaWatch2/status/1288097937780867072

https://kdvr.com/news/disabled-veteran-shot-by-defense-attorney-at-alamosa-protest-area/

I won't be clicking on any link to a bullshit Twitter page labeled "Antifa Watch 2", but I will assume it is about the same quality of incident as the one in the link to an actual news source. Where is the evidence that it was in any way linked to antifa?

The defense attorney also claims that the driver of the vehicle was attempting to run over protestors, and given that the protestors are described as "sitting in the street" when the incident occurred, I think there is significant reason to believe that this may have been the case. Of course, I don't have a problem with the man being arrested and charged in this case. That is what should happen absent any clear evidence that he was acting in self defense.

 

[laughing dog]

If these masked, camo federal agents do not show ID, couldn't a civilian rightly blow them away in self defense claiming they thought the agents were bugaloo boys or other white supremacists assholes?

 

[Politesse]

Is there also a thread about white supremacists looting and damaging property during protests?

Police: 'Umbrella Man' was a white supremacist trying to incite George Floyd rioting

I'm not buying this story from the police.

This guy was outed over a month ago as a MPD officer (which doesn't preclude the white supremacist aspect), and now the MPD come out with this story and won't disclose the identity.

Ferfucksake, even the guy's ex-wife was confirming it was him.

https://twitter.com/dyllyp/status/1266107862918377472

I thought it was fishy! Police seldom "out" Nazis if they can help it.

 

[Politesse]

If these masked, camo federal agents do not show ID, couldn't a civilian rightly blow them away in self defense claiming they thought the agents were bugaloo boys or other white supremacists assholes?

If they are armed, and have a death wish, sure. But good luck convincing a jury that you were justified, if you somehow survive the encounter. Black man with a gun = criminal, for the average American jury.

 

[bilby]

If these masked, camo federal agents do not show ID, couldn't a civilian rightly blow them away in self defense claiming they thought the agents were bugaloo boys or other white supremacists assholes?

Rightly? Sure.

But this scenario runs into the same problem that the NRA fantasy of armed citizens defeating tyranny has always had - you are massively outnumbered and outgunned, so regardless of your legal rights, the result of your killing a federal agent in self defence is almost certain to be your immediate death in a hail of return fire.

Being dead makes it very difficult to appeal to the courts that your actions were lawful or even laudable; So your legal rights are completely irrelevant.

 

[KeepTalking]

The jackbooted thugs in Portland have found a brand new way to trample on the Constitution:

"Defendant Shall Not Attend Protests”: In Portland, Getting Out of Jail Requires Relinquishing Constitutional Rights

Federal authorities are using a new tactic in their battle against protesters in Portland, Oregon: arrest them on offenses as minor as “failing to obey” an order to get off a sidewalk on federal property — and then tell them they can’t protest anymore as a condition for release from jail.

Legal experts describe the move as a blatant violation of the constitutional right to free assembly, but at least 12 protesters arrested in recent weeks have been specifically barred from attending protests or demonstrations as they await trials on federal misdemeanor charges.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

The laser pointers that people buy at Radio Shack are typically in the milliwatt range. But five to ten watt laser pointers (plenty sufficient to fry a retina. Looking directly at the sun, the eye's cones receive on the order of one milliWatt) are easy to find readily available... They are also much more expensive ($80 to a couple hundred dollars) than the Radio Shack mW range laser pointers. These are the ones that pilots have been complaining about. Fortunately for the pilots there is significant atmospheric scattering of the beams over the few thousand feet between the source and them.

5 to 10 watt???? Where?

A quick google search found this "big sale" for 10,000 mw (10 Watt) 520nm laser pointers for $99.99.

https://www.laserpointerpro.com/10000mw-520nm-burning-high-power-green-laser-pointer-kits-p-3908.html?currency=usd

There are many more internet shops selling high power laser pointers that came up in the search.

Try searching "laser pointer" in google shopping.

Wow! I didn't realize that kind of power was possible in a handheld laser. From reading that page the cooling is inadequate, run it too long and you'll damage it with overheating.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

If these masked, camo federal agents do not show ID, couldn't a civilian rightly blow them away in self defense claiming they thought the agents were bugaloo boys or other white supremacists assholes?

If they are armed, and have a death wish, sure. But good luck convincing a jury that you were justified, if you somehow survive the encounter. Black man with a gun = criminal, for the average American jury.

I think there are enough of us that fear where things are going that a hung jury would be a likely outcome if you were carrying legally. Act like a kidnapper instead of the police and you risk someone defending themselves.

Surviving it is another matter, even if you took one down the others would get you.

 

[Testy Calibrate]

View attachment 28733

In the head with a gun

https://twitter.com/AntifaWatch2/status/1288097937780867072

https://kdvr.com/news/disabled-veteran-shot-by-defense-attorney-at-alamosa-protest-area/

I won't be clicking on any link to a bullshit Twitter page labeled "Antifa Watch 2", but I will assume it is about the same quality of incident as the one in the link to an actual news source. Where is the evidence that it was in any way linked to antifa?

The defense attorney also claims that the driver of the vehicle was attempting to run over protestors, and given that the protestors are described as "sitting in the street" when the incident occurred, I think there is significant reason to believe that this may have been the case. Of course, I don't have a problem with the man being arrested and charged in this case. That is what should happen absent any clear evidence that he was acting in self defense.

The correct response is to ask if antifa is in the room right now.

 

[skepticalbip]

A quick google search found this "big sale" for 10,000 mw (10 Watt) 520nm laser pointers for $99.99.

https://www.laserpointerpro.com/10000mw-520nm-burning-high-power-green-laser-pointer-kits-p-3908.html?currency=usd

There are many more internet shops selling high power laser pointers that came up in the search.

Try searching "laser pointer" in google shopping.

Wow! I didn't realize that kind of power was possible in a handheld laser. From reading that page the cooling is inadequate, run it too long and you'll damage it with overheating.

I too was surprised a few years ago. The complaints by airline pilots at the time didn't make sense to me. At thousands of feet altitude, the atmospheric scattering of a beam from a Radio Shack laiser from the ground should make the beam, at most, a little nuisance if noticed, certainly not "blinding" as they were complaining. A little research informed me that laser technology and consumer products wasn't where I thought it was.

As I understand, pointing a laser at an aircraft is now a felony.