A man who was brutally beaten in Portland over the weekend was reportedly helping a transgender woman who had just been robbed before a mob attacked him.
“Investigators learned that the victim may have been trying to help a transgender female who had some of her thing stolen in the area of Southwest Taylor and 4th Ave, the location where this incident began. That person has not been contacted and their identity is unknown. Investigators would like to speak to this person,” police said in a statement Tuesday.
Videos of the attack on the man, identified as Adam Haner, have gone viral since they were posted, and one witness told Fox News that Haner was defending the transgender woman from the rioters before they turned their aggression on him.
“They were physically assaulting her like crazy, so when they were doing that … he actually started defending her, and then they shifted their attention on him,” the witness told Fox News.
Portland police announced Tuesday they have launched a manhunt for the suspect in the attack, Marquise Love, who also goes by the name “Keese” Love.
“Yesterday, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) began investigation of an assault that occurred in the downtown area where an adult male associated to a white pick-up truck was violently assaulted. Investigators positively identified the suspect as 25 year-old Marquise Love. Investigators made attempts to contact Love but could not locate him,” the statement added.
“He didn’t do nothing!” someone is heard saying during the video of the attack on Haner as he is kicked and punched.
The mob was comprised of Black Lives Matter and antifa activists, the New York Post reported.
Haner was able to get in his car and speed off before hitting a light pole. He was then dragged from his truck as he pleaded for the violence to end.
“I was trying to get out the way,” he said after the crash.
The crowd then began leaving the scene, but one attacker returned, kicking Haner in the head and causing him to lose consciousness.
A GoFundMe page was established for Haner’s medical expenses and repairs to his pickup truck, among other expenses.
“He would give the shirt off his back to help any of the people around him, and he really didn’t deserve what happened to him in Portland. I’ll supply updates here as I can, and may update the ‘story’ on the GFM to better detail how this will all get handled,” Haner’s brother, Brain Haner, wrote on the page.
