Though already long tolerating such brazenly threatening actions and city section ‘takeovers’ by Antifa, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced Tuesday: “There will be no autonomous zone in Portland.”
But it yet again appears too late as according to the Associated Press:
A group of activists for months have camped at the home dubbed “Red House on Mississippi” because it is on North Mississippi Avenue — to express their outrage against gentrification and the eviction of the Black and Indigenous family in September.
Footage from inside Portland’s antifa Red House Autonomous Zone. They’ve reinforced their hard border and have set up a larger buffer zone around the occupation. pic.twitter.com/FAZEMnTrR6
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) December 9, 2020
This is the area now being dubbed by the far Left activists as the newest ‘autonomous zone’ after prior short-lived similar attempts. It also comes after last summer’s headline-grabbing chaos centered on Seattle’s so-called Capitol Hill Organized Protest, or CHOP, which police didn’t take back till weeks later.
On Tuesday evening Mayor Wheeler vowed to remove both protesters and squatters on North Mississippi Avenue Tuesday by “all legal means” possible.
But judging by the videos coming out, it appears the police are being beaten back.
Full clip from outside the Red House as activists aggressively push police out of the area, halting the eviction of the Kinney family for now. pic.twitter.com/DgOKrEp8ZX
— Alex Milan Tracy (@AlexMilanTracy) December 8, 2020
Here’s more dramatic footage of the police in retreat from in front of the home:
More video of how antifa in Portland attacked police at the autonomous zone and made them retreat. They sprayed a chemical all over one police cruiser’s front window to completely block the view while others threw projectiles. pic.twitter.com/La91Tn2F5r
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) December 9, 2020
Reports the AP: “Protesters outraged with the arrests of seven people at a home where a family was removed in September hurled rocks at officers, sprayed a fire extinguisher at them and damaged police vehicles on Tuesday.”
Antifa and left-wing extremists in Portland have built a new autonomous zone in the middle of north Portland on a busy street. They are protecting the illegal squatters at a house. pic.twitter.com/qF8yOsJfKU
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) December 8, 2020
And further police were seen being struck by fists, fists, and even bricks hurled through the air “in broad daylight,” as the AP described further that “The violence happened in broad daylight.”
Portland protesters have put up barricades on Mississippi Ave in an attempt to block an eviction of “The Red House” residence. Portland police have attempted to evict on multiple occasions during the over the past year. #Portland #protest #Portlandprotests #BLM #Antifa pic.twitter.com/0yYKH8r3ln
— Independent Media PDX (@NDpendentPDX) December 9, 2020
Further social media videos show that Antifa is now attempting to reinforce and build-up its barricades which stand in the middle of a busy public street in front of the housing units that police are trying to evict squatters from.
Wheeler had said further in his Tuesday comments demanding the closure of the occupied area: “There are many ways to protest and work toward needed reform. Illegally occupying private property, openly carrying weapons, threatening and intimidating people are not among them,” he said.
Fueling the controversy is that a pandemic-inspired moratorium on evictions is set to expire on December 31.
However, many are demanding a significant extension, with the far Left saying it should be extended indefinitely, or what amounts to a “free housing for all” policy.
