The weekend slaying of a member of the group Patriot Prayer has reportedly prompted a return to Portland by Oregon State Police to support local law enforcement, according to the Associated Press, while liberal Democrat Mayor Ted Wheeler is blaming President Donald Trump for the violence.
Trump, however, accused Wheeler of allowing violent demonstrations by left-wing protesters to continue in the city for the past three months. The president called the mayor a “fool.”
Meanwhile, Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden was headed to Pittsburgh, PA where he will also blame the president for ongoing violent riots and demonstrations.
At the same time, a defense attorney for accused Kenosha, WI murder suspect Kyle Rittenhouse is claiming his 17-year-old client acted in self-defense. Two men were killed last week and a third wounded during demonstrations that turned ugly in Kenosha following the shooting of a black man by Kenosha police. Rittenhouse was armed with a semi-automatic rifle when he was involved in two separate shootings.
The incident has resulted in lengthy discussions on social media about self-defense, Second Amendment rights and the backgrounds of the people who were shot.
During violent protests ignited by the shooting of Jacob Blake, Kenosha police reported arrested at least 175 people, and 102 of them have addresses outside the city. It is not clear whether many, if any, came from out of state, but it appears the civil unrest attracted a lot of people from elsewhere.
MEDIA RELEASE pic.twitter.com/kJgF2fudzn
— Kenosha Police Dept. (@KenoshaPolice) August 31, 2020
In Portland, the Washington Times is reporting that police arrested two armed protesters during a demonstration outside a county office building. Twenty-nine people have been arrested, and some of them were armed with knives and one individual had an expandable baton. Police also reportedly found homemade spike strips designed to cause tire punctures.
The murder victim was identified as Aaron “Jay” Danielson. He was shot dead Saturday evening following what Fox News described as “violent clashes” between the caravan, which was pro-Trump, and the Black Lives Matter protesters. Police have not said whether they have a suspect. There were reports of shots fired near an intersection where vehicles in the pro-Trump caravan were passing, Fox News said.
Meanwhile, defense attorney John Pierce said in a statement that Rittenhouse fired “after being attacked by rioters who chased and beat him.”
“This was not a serious investigation,” Pierce reportedly said. “Rather, after learning Kyle may have had conservative political viewpoints, they immediately saw him as a convenient target who they could use as a scapegoat to distract from the Jacob Blake shooting and the government’s abject failure to ensure basic law and order to citizens.”
And that may appear to some to be exactly what Biden is doing with his Pittsburgh appearance.
According to the Associated Press, Biden “is mounting a more aggressive offense against President Donald Trump with a rare public appearance Monday where he will say that a second term for Trump will mean more violence in America’s streets — not less.”
Conservative pundits have suggested the reason behind Biden’s new aggressive approach is Trump’s rising poll numbers and Biden’s shrinking lead. It is apparently not helping Biden’s campaign or Democrats anywhere that continued violent protests are happening in Portland, Chicago, Kenosha and elsewhere, perhaps including Seattle.
