KENOSHA, WI –After the shooting of Jacob Blake, nights of riots ensued which caused significant property damage, including historical buildings being burnt to the ground.
President Trump offered the National Guard and surprisingly Democratic leaders agreed (although they now say it wasn’t because of his offer).
Yet Mayor John Antaramian now praises how quickly the National Guard brought an end to the violence in such a short amount of time.
Kenosha, Wisconsin’s Democrat Mayor John Antaramian admits that “the National Guard has been extremely helpful”https://t.co/vMkF8k9YLI pic.twitter.com/v4yMM9l34b
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 1, 2020
In an interview with CNN, Antaramian said:
“I will tell you, though, that the National Guard has been extremely helpful, and we feel comfortable that we can keep the president safe and keep the public safe. Mostly, we need to try to make sure that there’s calm in the community, and that is what we are hoping to maintain.”
Antaramian said the response from the request to the National Guard being on scene was a quick turnaround.
“The city made the request for the National Guard to come in. The governor immediately dealt with it, and within 12 hours after the request had been done, the Guard was in Kenosha.”
However, Antaramian is quick to suggest that any request to him or the Democratic Governor from the President is not true.
“The governor actually had implemented the Guard on Sunday or Monday morning early to have the Guard come in. And so, that was long before any discussions with the president.”
Approximately 1,000 National Guard and 200 federal police officers were sent to the area after Democratic Governor Tony Evers made the request. The deployment was deemed largely a success and the President tweeted:
“Since the National Guard moved into Kenosha, Wisconsin, two days ago, there has been NO FURTHER VIOLENCE, not even a small problem. When legally asked to help by local authorities, the Federal Government will act and quickly succeed. Are you listening Portland?”
President Trump’s remark about Portland is referencing the many consecutive nights of rioting in the city since the death of George Floyd while in police custody.
Members of Black Lives Matter and Antifa waged war on the police in the town, injuring hundreds of officers and attempted to burn down buildings while people were inside.
President Trump has urged both Oregon Democratic Governor Kate Brown and Democratic Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler to allow the National Guard to assist in ending the endless riots in the city.
Both have flatly refused and continue to call the riots nothing more than peaceful protests. It was not until Aaron “Jay” Danielson was shot and killed that Brown even admitted there was an issue.
Brown claimed that the violence and seemingly unprovoked shooting of a President Trump supporter was somehow his fault.
Brown tried to say that the rioting that occurred that night was only because of ‘right-wing’ people who had come to disrupt ‘peaceful protests.’
Brown attempted to have additional law enforcement personnel in the area step up and assist Portland with getting the situation under control. However, two local Sheriff’s refused to send deputies into the city for fear of the political landscape and the District Attorney’s refusal to pursue criminal charges against rioters.
Despite the continued refusals, President Trump still hopes that the Brown will request the National Guard so the violence can end and more lives are not lost. In a tweet, the President said:
“Kenosha has been very quiet for the third night in a row or, since the National Guard has shown up. That’s the way it works, it’s all very simple. Portland, with a very ungifted mayor, should request help from the Federal Government. If lives are endangered, we’re going in!”
#
Acting DHS Chief warns Portland – get your act together or the federal government is stepping in
This editorial is written by a former police officer and current staff writer for Law Enforcement Today.
—
PORTLAND, OR- If 2020 was an awards show, the finalists for worst mayor of the year would be Bill de Blasio of New York, Lori Lightfoot of Chicago, Jacob Frey of Minneapolis, Jenny Durkan of Seattle of Seattle, and Ted Wheeler of Portland.
The winner would be no contest…Wheeler. De Blasio would be a close second.
Actually, the other four would probably be tied for second.
For the past 90+ days, the once beautiful city of Portland more closely resembles Baghdad after Desert Storm, or Mogadishu after…well, pretty much any time.
Portland has devolved over the past maybe ten or so years, but 2020 took it to a whole other level. Now, the Department of Homeland security is warning Wheeler to get his sh…act together, or the feds will step in and do it for him.
According to Just the News, Chad Wolf, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security has “encouraged” Wheeler to seek federal assistance for his beleaguered city after nearly 100 straight days of rioting. Make no mistake about it—these have generally been riots—anything but “peaceful protests.”
On Monday, Wolf sent a letter to Wheeler in which he cited the fact that the Department of Homeland Security had made 255 arrests and declared 23 instances of riots and unlawful assemblies…and that was just in August.
Wolf slammed Wheeler by stating that he had “stood passively by, arguing that nightly violence ‘will ultimately burn itself out.’ The evidence demonstrates otherwise,” Wolf wrote.
Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf Letter
Last Friday, Wheeler once again turned down federal assistance, which President Trump has repeatedly offered to the city as it burns out of control.
“On behalf of the City of Portland: No thanks,” Wheeler wrote.
“Portlanders are on to you. We have already seen your reckless disregard for human life in your bumbling response to the COVID pandemic. And we know you’ve reached the conclusion that images of violence or vandalism are your only ticket to reelection.”
If Wheeler wants to take about a “bumbling response,” he need look no further than the bathroom mirror. But I digress.
In response, Wolf wrote:
“Ignoring criminal behavior is no way to protect the citizens of your community, the same citizens who entrusted you to hold elected office. I urge you go prioritize public safety and to request federal assistance to restore law and order in Portland.”
Fox News said that Wolf’s letter urged Wheeler to look again at the offer:
“The chaos, destruction, and suffering in Portland are evils you can stop—and must stop. Consider what happened recently in Wisconsin—where the State of Wisconsin requested and received federal law enforcement assistance and the violence and looting there ended.”
Continuing:
“Accordingly, I urge you to prioritize public safety and to request federal assistance to restore law and order in Portland. We are standing by to support Portland.
At the same time, President Trump has made it abundantly clear that there will come a point when state and local officials fail to protect its citizens from violence, the federal government will have no choice but to protect our American citizens.”
The back and forth between the Trump administration and Wheeler comes at the same time that a suspect believed to be an Antifa member is a suspect in the murder of Aaron J. Danielson, 39, of Portland.
Danielson was a member of the Patriot Prayer group, a right leaning group that is active in the Pacific Northwest, according to Reuters. Danielson was said to be a supporter of President Trump.
KTVZ said that according to Joey Gibson, head of the Patriot Prayer group, members of the group had gotten into an altercation with Black Lives Matter protesters in downtown Portland Saturday night.
According to video taken during the altercation, it appears that Danielson may have been separated from the rest of the group. He was wearing a hat with bearing the Patriot Prayer insignia, according to The Blaze, and may have also been carrying a side satchel with what appeared to be a Blue Lives Matter flag on it.
After the shooting, a crowd dressed in all black was apparently celebrating the man’s death.
“And tonight, I just got word, the person who died was a Patriot Prayer person,” said a woman with a megaphone. “He was a fucking Nazi. Our community held its own and took out the trash. I’m not going to shed any tears over a Nazi.”
Class act.
Meantime, the Wall St. Journal reported that Portland Police Bureau investigators are looking for a person of interest in connection with the murder. The man, 48-year-old Michael Reinoehl is apparently a former professional snowboarder and self-professed member of Antifa on social media.
The Journal said that Reinoehl’s sister identified a picture shown to her by the Portland Police Bureau as being her brother.
An autopsy performed by the medical examiner on Danielson confirmed that he had died of a gunshot wound to the chest and was classified as a homicide, according to a police department press release.
The Journal said a law enforcement official confirmed that Reinoehl is indeed a person of interest in the case.
According to an Instagram account bearing Reinoehl’s name, there were a number of pictures from protests which took place over the summer. The outlet noted that the person behind the account had “identified himself as an enthusiastic supporter of the left-wing antifascist group Antifa,” the Journal said.
“I am 100% ANTIFA all the way! I am willing to fight for my brothers and sisters!” he wrote in a June 16 post. “We do not want violence, but we will not run from it either! If the police continue to pick on and beat up innocent citizens that are peacefully voicing their objections, it must be met with equal force!”
Reihoehl actually fits the description of your typical Antifa member. According to his sister, she said that she didn’t know him well, although he “showed up every once in a while to demand money from Mom and then disappear.”
Sounds about right.
The fact remains that by doing nothing and standing by as businesses are destroyed, police are assaulted, and now people are being killed, Wheeler, District Attorney Mike Schmidt, and City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty are complicit in these crimes.
Perhaps the United States Department of Justice should investigate these three amateurs for U.S. Civil Rights violations.
—
Want to make sure you never miss a story from Law Enforcement Today? With so much “stuff” happening in the world on social media, it’s easy for things to get lost.
