Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, denounced the violence that recently spread across Portland by antifa activists, the same day President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn into office.
“I repudiate it in every form possible — violence in any form. Violence from any corridor is wrong,” Wyden told the Washington Examiner on Friday.
Republicans, such as Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, criticized Democrats for not calling out the Inauguration Day violence after Democrats accused GOP members of inciting the deadly Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
“I’m waiting for Pres Biden to condemn violence/looting/arson last two days in Oregon & Washington state,” Grassley tweeted Thursday.
Local law enforcement in Portland and Seattle on Wednesday arrested over a dozen people after destructive Inauguration Day demonstrations led to the damaging of immigration offices, businesses, and other sites in both cities.
According to police in Portland, about 150 protesters marched from Revolution Hall, a local music club, to the Democratic Party of Oregon offices. There, rioters smashed windows and lit a dumpster on fire. Some were linked to antifa, a self-styled anti-fascist movement that frequently clashes with law enforcement.
The state Democratic Party released a statement in response to the damage done to its headquarters.
“This is not the first time our building has been vandalized during the past year. None of the prior incidents have deterred us from our important work to elect Democrats up and down the ballot, and this one will be no different,” a state party spokesman said.
Some ran around with signs saying, “We are ungovernable.” Another larger sign among the masked crowd of anarchist and anti-fascist images said, “We don’t want Biden — we want revenge!”
