The Democratic Party of Oregon, despite seeing its headquarters vandalized by antifa, said the GOP remains its biggest threat.
In a Facebook post on Monday afternoon, the state party shared an update after left-wing activists attacked its headquarters in downtown Oregon, just hours after President Biden was sworn into office.
“None of this should take away from the fact that Democrats in Oregon and across America have so much to celebrate right now!” the organization wrote. “Not even one full week into the new administration, President Biden and Vice President Harris are already starting the work to build back better, with dozens of critical Executive Orders on climate, pandemic response, immigration, racial equity, and more.”
The Democratic Party of Oregon asked supporters for donations to help repair the “extensive and discouraging” damage to the building, adding that “this is not the first time our building has been vandalized during the past year.”
The statement ends with a reminder to Democrats in Oregon that, despite the nine shattered windows and destroyed front door, the party remains “undeterred” from GOP intimidation.
“Years of relentless Republican attacks on our Democratic values and the very foundations of our democracy have not stopped our work, and neither will this senseless vandalism,” the party stated.
The Oregon Democratic Party did not respond to a request for comment.
Democratic leaders have changed their tune on opposing left-wing violence in the Pacific Northwest, following what many critics considered a muted response to months of rioting throughout the spring and summer.
Nor have Democrats expressed outrage at the continued use of federal agents to protect government buildings in Portland. Just one day after Biden was sworn into office, federal police shot tear gas and pepper balls against activists attempting to vandalize an ICE facility in the city’s downtown. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi once attacked federal officers as “storm troopers,” and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said their use was “so un-American” and akin to something in “third-world countries and dictatorships.”
Last week, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, told the Washington Examiner that he “repudiates” the unrest in Portland and opposed “violence in any form.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the Biden administration is monitoring the unrest and opposes violence of any kind “in the strongest possible terms.”
Seattle, like Portland, appears similarly overwhelmed by left-wing violence, even after hopes that a Biden administration would restore some sense of normalcy to its city’s streets.
In response, Seattle’s interim police chief announced a new policy with the local prosecutor to increase arrests against vandals and other lawbreakers.
“The events of breaking windows at a variety of different locations with no meaning,” Adrian Diaz said. “There was no discussion about what they were fighting for, what type of social justice message. That cannot happen. That level of direct action cannot occur. And we are going to immediately address those issues.”
