A Texas man was charged by federal prosecutors with assaulting a member of the U.S. Marshals Service during anti-government demonstrations in Portland, Oregon, last week.
Video allegedly shows suspect Jacob Michael Gaines, 23, wielding a construction hammer during weekend protests at the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in the city’s downtown on July 11.
The deputy was struck three times in the neck, shoulder, and back but was not injured seriously.
Surveillance video shows Gaines had been using the hammer to damage a barricaded entrance to the courthouse, federal authorities said.
Gaines made his initial appearance in federal court on Monday before a U.S. magistrate judge and was released pending further proceedings.
The courthouse has been a repeated target of vandalism during evening protests and riots, sustaining extensive damage, the Department of Justice said.
Here is the shocking video showing Jacob Michael Gaines prepping an overhead hammer strike on federal law enforcement at the courthouse during the antifa riot. pic.twitter.com/YXslTii2aE
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) July 14, 2020
Civil unrest has continued in Portland for more than a month, similar to what other cities across the country have experienced following the death of George Floyd.
Local officials estimate widespread looting, arson, and vandalism in the city during recent weeks will cost more than $23 million to repair.
Portland Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis said last week that his department had encountered an “agitator corps” of people who came to the city with the specific goal of causing havoc.
“There’s a very big difference between protests and the kind of mayhem that we see every night,” he said. “You’re going to hear me make a lot of effort not to refer to what we’re talking about here as protests because protests and this are two different things.”
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler earlier this week told the acting U.S. secretary of homeland security that he did not wish to have federal forces assist in quelling the violence.
“We do not want or need their help,” Wheeler said.
