Conservative firebrand Mark Levin accused national media outlets and Democrats of turning blind eyes to the rioting in Portland, Oregon, in recent days.
“After watching some TV news shows this morning, it’s obvious neither the media or the Democrats on these shows want the president to put down these violent riots in Portland, Chicago, and elsewhere,” Levin said Tuesday. “And they trash federal law enforcement, accuse them of kidnapping, etc., claim the president is politicizing the riots, and on and on. The news is utterly worthless because it’s not news at all. Don’t waste your time.”
Levin suggested that if the shoe was on the other foot, politically speaking, there would be a collective uproar from Democratic politicians and media pundits.
“I can assure you that if the Tea Party had been rioting every night, defacing government property, beating police& citizens, shutting down city blocks& been talking about overthrowing the government, there would be a very, very different reaction from these hypocrites& frauds,” he said.
3. I can assure you that if the Tea Party had been rioting every night, defacing government property, beating police& citizens, shutting down city blocks& been talking about overthrowing the government, there would be a very, very different reaction from these hypocrites& frauds
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) July 21, 2020
Over the weekend, protesters in Portland forced their way into the Portland Police Association building and lit dumpsters on fire.
President Trump has deployed federal authorities there to protect a federal courthouse, which anti-government protesters have targeted over the last several nights.
Similar to mayors of other major cities where civil unrest or violent crime has grown, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said he wants federal troops out of his city.
“They’re not wanted here,” Wheeler said this week. “We haven’t asked them [to be] here. In fact, we want them to leave. What we’re seeing is a blatant abuse of police tactics by the federal government, by a Trump administration that’s falling in the polls. And this is a direct threat to our democracy.”
Trump on Monday said local politicians are afraid of the demonstrators and threatened to send forces to more cities if the local government does not put the demonstrations to an end.
“A lot of people in jail, these are anarchists. These are not protesters. … These are people that hate our country. And we’re not going to let it go forward,” Trump said. “The governor and the mayor and the senators out there, they are afraid of these people. That’s the reason they don’t want us to help them. They’re afraid.”
Some journalists have reported federal officers whisking demonstrators off the street in unmarked vehicles only to release them later.
“Usually, when we see people in unmarked cars forcibly grab someone off the street, we call it kidnapping,” Jann Carson, interim executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, told the Washington Post.
Trump’s critics have said he is fanning the flames of civil unrest rather than helping quell the violence.
“Last month, the Administration tear-gassed peaceful protestors in Washington, D.C.,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote in a joint statement Saturday with Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon. “Now, videos show them kidnapping protestors in unmarked cars in Portland – all with the goal of inflaming tensions for their own gain.”
