Byron York’s Daily Memo: Spinning the riots with the Wall of Moms and Leaf-Blower Dads

SPINNING THE RIOTS WITH THE WALL OF MOMS AND LEAF-BLOWER DADS. In the last few days the riots in Portland have spread to other cities across the U.S., including Seattle, Austin, Oakland, Los Angeles, New York, Richmond, Aurora, Colorado, and more.

Now, not all of those places are filled with President Trump’s “secret police” — or “storm troopers,” if you prefer. Remember that many on the left, and their allies in the media, placed blame for the trouble in Portland on the presence of federal law enforcement — specifically officers of the Department of Homeland Security, who are protecting the federal courthouse there. So what is going on when violence erupts where there are no DHS agents?

The New York Times has the answer. “From Los Angeles to New York, protesters marched in a show of solidarity with demonstrations in Portland,” the paper reported. So just in case any independent-minded readers might have suspected that there was something going on beyond simple anti-Trump sentiments — perhaps an anarchist left trying to sow pre-election disorder in cities around the country — the Times explained that the violence, even though it spread across the nation, actually sprang from Trump’s actions.

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Meanwhile, the Washington Post — both the Post and the Times have stepped up their coverage of Portland, having fallen behind as more aggressive outlets like Fox News owned the story — has taken to humanizing the demonstrators in Portland in a way to stress the peacefulness of it all. One recent dispatch portrayed a man a block away from the federal courthouse speaking about racial justice and policing — amid drums, dancing, and chanting — when tear gas began to waft over the crowd. Immediately, a group of “orange-shirted men with leaf blowers descended on the cloud, revved their engines and blew the tear gas away,” the Post said. “‘Thank you leaf-blower dads!,’ shouted a young woman.”

Yes, a “small number” of people have engaged in violence, the Post added, but the “Leaf-Blower Dads” and the “Wall of Moms” — they’re the ones who provide a human shield for the rioters — are keeping things cool.

Meanwhile, there are other, less charming accounts of what is happening in Portland. On Sunday, city police posted a report, “Riot Declared in Downtown Portland July 26 — Arrests Made.” The report said “thousands” gathered at the federal courthouse on Saturday night and Sunday morning. It’s worth quoting at length: “Throughout the night some people in this crowd spent their time shaking the fence around the building, throwing rocks, bottles, and assorted debris over the fence, shining lasers through the fence, firing explosive fireworks into the area blocked by the fence, and using power tools to try to cut through the fence. People wore gas masks, carried shields, hockey sticks, leaf blowers, flags, and umbrellas specifically to thwart police in crowd dispersal or attempt to conceal criminal acts. People against the fence sprayed unknown liquids through it toward the courthouse. People tied rope to the fence and attempted to pull it down.”

“This activity continued as thousands remained outside along SW 3rd Avenue for hours,” the police report continued. “At about 1:03 a.m. people in the crowd attached a chain to the fence and with many people pulling managed to pull a section of it down. People began lighting fires along SW 3rd Avenue. People climbed over the fence to get close to the federal courthouse. People continued to launch mortar style fireworks at ground level that were exploding near others.”

The riots in other cities followed the same general pattern. “A protest in Oakland, California, in support of racial justice and police reform turned violent when a small group of demonstrators wearing helmets and goggles and carrying large signs that doubled as shields set fire to a courthouse, vandalized a police station and shot fireworks at officers,” the Associated Press reported.

It was more of the same in Seattle, where rioters threw “large rocks, bottles, fireworks and other explosives at officers,” according to a police tweet. “Twenty-one officers sustained injuries after being struck by bricks, rocks, mortars/other explosives.” Most of the injuries were minor; one officer was treated at a hospital.

Also in Seattle, police told business owners and residents that because the city council passed a bill banning the use of pepper spray and other crowd control agents, there is no way officers can protect residents from rampaging crowds. “Simply put, the legislation gives officers NO ability to safely intercede to preserve property in the midst of a large, violent crowd,” police chief Carmen Best wrote in an open letter. The short version of the message to businesses and residents: You’re on your own.

But…but…the Leaf-Blower Dads! Look for more just-folks reporting on the rioters — but don’t forget to read the police reports of violence night after night after night.