3 ms·

If all these "rioters" are trying to burn the courthouse down, why didn't it burn down before the armed feds showed up and started hitting people with gas? The

• notmyfriend 6y ago
  Because the local police up until that moment attempted to keep them away. Then the mayor ordered them to stand down in the hope of scoring some cheap political points with his supporters. You make it sound like the feds have been rampaging around town on a pleasure cruise smoking up the city. All of the action is right around the building itself.
• ehvatum 6y ago
  Note that Portland Police deployed CS gas against protesters attempting to set fire to the courthouse on May 30th. That night, Portland Police arrested 51 people.
• bendbro 6y ago
  The rioters had begun vandalizing, looting, breaking in and setting fire to buildings directly adjacent to the federal courthouse before federal agents arrived to protect the courthouse. Active defense of the courthouse seems justified, and more than that, it is legal. May 31st: Looting and fire at Justice Center, adjacent to federal courthouse: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/news/read.cfm?id=250814 https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/news/read.cfm?id=25081... June 27th: Some feds arrive in response: https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/07/evidence-shows-portland-police-working-with-federal-officers-at-protests-contradicting-city-officials.html https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/07/evidence-shows-portl...