With President Biden now in the White House and the Democrats in control of both the House and the Senate, its far-left activist flank made it clear on Wednesday night it has no intention of backing down.
On Wednesday night, hours after Biden was sworn into office, antifa and other left-wing groups marched through the streets of Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, seemingly in protest against the new Democratic administration.
In Portland, the Democratic Party of Oregon’s headquarters was vandalized as activists smashed the building’s windows and spray-painted anti-Biden slogans on the wall. According to reporters on the scene, chants of “F— Joe Biden” could be heard from protesters.
“None of this should take away from the fact that today is a joyous and momentous day for America as we celebrate the Inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris,” a statement from the Democratic Party of Oregon read on Wednesday. “President Biden is already starting the work to build back better, with more than a dozen critical Executive Orders on climate, pandemic response, immigration, racial equality, and more.”
“We at the Democratic Party of Oregon are resolute and determined to do everything in our power to support the Biden/Harris administration, and to help Oregon and America recover from the pandemic stronger than before.”
The mob then moved toward an ICE facility in the city, later clashing with police. Six people were arrested in the midst of the chaos, with law enforcement saying it seized firearms and knives from some in the crowd.
A similar scene emerged in Seattle, with members of the city’s local antifa group marching through the city’s downtown, vandalizing storefronts, burning American flags, and pledging resistance to the new president. Seattle police said they arrested three individuals for burglary, assault, and property damage.
“Last night’s violence and destruction in downtown has no place in our city or democracy,” said a joint statement from the local chamber of commerce and the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority. “Every Seattle elected official should immediately denounce these extremists.”
As Biden pleaded for unity in his inaugural address, members of the far Left in both cities pledged to maintain regular protests until their demands of the abolition of ICE, a fully decarbonized economy, and other redistribution efforts are met.
The scenes on Wednesday mirrored the same kind of chaos seen this summer in Portland and Seattle, where violent clashes with law enforcement were a nearly nightly occurrence. The damage two local businesses and government property totaled in the tens of millions.
In various antifa online chatrooms, members described their dissatisfaction with Biden’s platform and chastised the Democratic Party’s supposed centrism.
“The worst part is that we got Biden as our Democratic candidate,” wrote one user in a self-described antifa activist Discord server. “Like instead of having somebody as radical as Trump (even if his policies aren’t super radical, his support is) we got somebody who could not be more moderate.”
Another user lamented about how “the party duopoly has failed” and that the Democratic Party was bound to “implode” due to ideological tensions. One user chimed in that “Portland [activists] in July … were inspirational to the rest of the nation.”
“Speaking of f—ing with vision do we have any paint tactics? Paint filled balloons or even paintball guns?” one user who planned on attending an upcoming demonstration asked in a discussion about skirmishes with law enforcement. “I’d like to try it out for sure in Portland but don’t know if anybody has actual experience with it.”
In the months leading up to the election, the Republican Party attempted to tie Biden and the rest of the Democratic Party to radical organizations like antifa. Following days of civil unrest and rioting in various cities this summer and early fall, Biden spoke out against left-wing violence and urged peaceful solutions to those angry about the death of George Floyd.
“Yes, I do [condemn] violence, no matter who it is,” the president said on the campaign trail in September, although mostly criticized former President Donald Trump for not condemning “the far-right folks coming out and protesting and using violence.”
“But the only peaceful option I see is to show people how much of a sham voting has become, so they’ll just not comply,” wrote one user after Trump conceded. “Hopefully. But that’s been my only idea for a peaceful way.”
