Byron York's Daily Memo: Remember the riots?

Byron York's Daily Memo: Remember the riots?
by Byron York, Chief Political Correspondent |
| October 05, 2020 08:14 AM

Welcome to Byron York's Daily Memo newsletter.

REMEMBER THE RIOTS? It wasn't too long ago that the news was filled with reports of violent protests in Portland, Seattle, Washington DC, and other cities around the nation. And then...silence. Networks and newspapers are going wall-to-wall with analyses of every syllable uttered by President Trump's doctors as he is treated for coronavirus. Of course that's news, but in the meantime, other news -- like a continuing plague of violence in those cities and elsewhere -- has virtually disappeared from the coverage.

But it's still there. A look at the Portland police twitter page from last night shows yet another march and confrontation with police. (Nobody bothers to keep count of the number of consecutive night there has been violence.) "The march has arrived at the new courthouse at 1200 SW 1st Ave.," police tweeted between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. local time Sunday. "Some participants have begun vandalizing the building. Do not do this. You are subject to arrest. To the van supporting the march: It is unsafe and illegal to drive the wrong way on a 1-way." As the marchers continued, police warned, "Vandalism to the courthouse will not be tolerated. If you commit vandalism you are subject to arrest or use of force."

Remember when Democratic leaders and their allies in the media blamed it all on Trump? But with the president in a hospital 2,800 miles away, and with Democrats and media talkers consumed by other stories, the protests have continued. At the courthouse, as the indefatigable street journalist Andy Ngo reported, the rioters began to vandalize a building that "cost taxpayers $324 million and took four years of construction time." Six people were arrested.

Even more serious was an attack on a police officer. On Sunday morning, a Portland officer was doing paperwork in his car when a rioter smashed a window and filled the car with pepper spray. The officer managed to radio a description of his attacker, who was later arrested in a car that police had been following earlier. "Inside the vehicle, officers found window punch tools, pepper spray, throwing knives, a laser pointer, a slingshot, rocks, and more," police noted. As you can see in the police photo below, it was a whole rioter's toolkit. (The packets of Sudecon are for self-treating pepper spray exposure.)

Police reported that the suspect was a 41 year-old Portland man named John B. Russell. He was charged with assaulting a public safety officer, aggravated harassment, and criminal mischief in the first degree. Andy Ngo helpfully provided Mr. Russell's mug shot, below. Ngo also reported that Russell, like almost every other violent rioter in Portland, was quickly released, so he will surely be back at work soon.

There has also been trouble in Seattle and Washington DC in the last few days. You just probably haven't heard about it.

It seems needless to say that none of this has anything to do with black lives or any protest against real or alleged police brutality. Much of the agitation is clearly the work of the violent extremist organization Antifa. Remember at the presidential debate that Democratic candidate Joe Biden declared, "Antifa is an idea and not an organization." President Trump responded, "Oh, you've got to be kidding...when a bat hits you over the head, it's not an idea. Antifa is a dangerous radical group." Biden's response was to mock the president by saying, "You have no ideas."

But in Portland, if Antifa is an idea, it's an idea armed with window punch tools, pepper spray, throwing knives, a laser pointer, a slingshot, rocks, and more. Perhaps if the violence were covered more in the media, Biden would be forced to defend his indefensible claim. But for now, remember the violence and unrest are still going on, even if they don't make the news.

Byron York's Daily Memo: Remember the riots? Pt. 2
by Byron York, Chief Political Correspondent |
| October 06, 2020 08:23 AM

Welcome to Byron York's Daily Memo newsletter.

REMEMBER THE RIOTS? Pt. 2. Yesterday's memo was about the persistence of civil unrest in Portland, Seattle, and other cities -- even though media attention has moved on to other things. Much of the agitation is the work of the violent extremist group Antifa. But Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden refuses to recognize that Antifa exists as anything other than an "idea."

"Antifa is an idea, and not an organization," Biden declared at last week's debate with President Trump. "That's what his FBI director said." Given Biden's claim, it's worth looking at what the FBI director, Christopher Wray, actually said about Antifa.

Biden was referring to testimony Wray gave on September 17 before the House Homeland Security Committee. In response to questioning by the chairman, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, Wray referred to "anarchist violent extremists, people who subscribe to Antifa or other ideologies..." To that, Thompson quickly responded, "If I'm hearing you correctly, you're saying that [Antifa] is really not an organization so much as it is ideology.”

"We look at Antifa as more of an ideology or a movement than an organization," Wray said. "To be clear, we do have quite a number of properly-predicated domestic terrorism investigations into violent anarchist extremists, any number of whom self identify with the Antifa movement."

Antifa is a "real thing," Wray said, but "it's not an organization or structure." But then Wray repeated that the FBI has opened "quite a number" of probes this year into "violent anarchist extremists who self-identify with Antifa." By "self-identify," Wray explained, he meant that the suspects literally say, "I am Antifa." On four occasions, he referred to "the Antifa movement." And then: "When I make comments about movements and ideologies, I want to be very clear that I'm in no way minimizing the seriousness of the criminal conduct and the violence that we're investigating."

Then Wray seemed to expand his own definition. "We have seen individuals...identified with the Antifa movement coalescing regionally into what you might describe as small groups or nodes. And we are actively investigating the potential violence from those regional nodes." In addition, Wray said the FBI is investigation "the source of funding, the source of supply" for such activity.

So how to best refer to Antifa, at least by Wray's standard? Well, it's certainly not an "idea." Wray never called Antifa an "idea." Probably the best thing to call it would be the "Antifa movement," although it is a movement that is "coalescing" into groups in some places. As National Review noted, "No, there is no headquarters campus of the National Association of Antifa and they don't have a set membership list, ranks, branch offices, website, human-resources department, and a 401(k) plan." But they are real, they are violent, they have money, and they are organizing.

And that is the point Trump was making in the debate when he said, "When a bat hits you over the head, it's not an idea. Antifa is a dangerous radical group." And indeed, in Portland, Seattle, and elsewhere, Antifa adherents are setting fires, attacking police, destroying property, and getting arrested while possessing all sorts of weapons. So if someone denies that Antifa is an organization, just call it a violent movement that is "coalescing" into regional groups. And then point out the latest violence from Portland -- there's sure to be some -- and note that it's not an "idea."

looks like russel came prepared. not.


doesn't look too peaceful tho.

Peaceful protesters do not need these tool kits!
Nor do they disobey Law Enforcement!
Antifas ideals is to have a socialistic society! Do not be fooled. They are well financed and protected by the far left in our own Country and from others! antifa is a terror organization.

byron's article is really more about the medias non-reporting of the riots.

notice they haven't said much about the riots? not in newspapers or in tv media.

they've shut the reporting down as its election month.

byron's article is really more about the medias non-reporting of the riots.

notice they haven't said much about the riots? not in newspapers or in tv media.

they've shut the reporting down as its election month. Originally Posted by dilbert firestorm

Exactly! Doesnt fit their current agenda! Its all about hurting Trump and the GOP!

Peaceful protest the media is now Ignoring , like Denver over the weekend were a unlicesened security guard hired by a tv station ( with ties to sanders/ and young turks ) killed a right wing protester wow