Over two dozen suspected antifa rioters have been charged in Portland over the last two weeks on charges ranging from assault to using explosives.
Authorities have made arrests and filed charges against several suspected Portland antifa rioters in recent weeks, including the rearrest of 24-year-old Malik Fard Muhammad.
Muhammad, who was previously extradited to Oregon after being “indicted on two counts of attempted aggravated murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, four counts of felony riot, two counts of unlawful manufacturing of an explosive device, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a loaded firearm in public,” was arrested again after the antifa-linked Portland Freedom Fund paid $212,500 in bail following his last arrest.
Muhammad joins more than two dozen other rioters facing charges, with the Multnomah County district attorney’s office announcing charges against 10 suspects after they faced jury indictments. The suspects face charges of “felony riot, felony first-degree criminal mischief and second-degree criminal mischief.”
A separate indictment covered six more rioters who were charged with felonies for their alleged role in the Jan. 20 antifa Inauguration Day riot. The group displayed a banner that read, “We don’t want Biden — We want revenge,” as it marched to the Democratic Party of Oregon building and started a fire while smashing through the building’s windows.
WASHINGTON POST FINALLY RECOGNIZES THAT PORTLAND HAS A VIOLENCE PROBLEM
The district attorney’s office also charged 26-year-old Sean Gabriel Lopez, a rapper known as Noshu, with felony second-degree attempted assault, felony first-degree burglary, felony unlawful use of a weapon, and two counts of felony first-degree criminal mischief. Lopez, who regularly attended the Portland riots, was arrested early in the morning on May 29.
Lopez’s $70,000 bail was paid by the Portland chapter of the National Lawyers Guild’s “Mass Defense Fund,” according to a GoFundMe set up for him.
The charges represent a drastic shift for District Attorney Mike Schmidt, who had previously dropped 90% of protest-related cases. Schmidt struck a sympathetic tone with the protests shortly after taking office last year, arguing that at previous points in American history, it “took some property damage” to bring about meaningful change.
“I think that when you look historically at this nation, it’s during these protests when we’ve gotten some of the changes that we are proudest of in our nation’s history,” Schmidt said at the time. “And sometimes, it took some property damage. It took more than just peaceful protests to get the government’s attention. I’m very mindful of that.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
But a spokesperson insists Schmidt has “continuously condemned property damage and violence.”
