Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE.
New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler said in a video posted to social media that nightly violence being committed by anarchists in Portland — often against federal agents deployed there to protect government buildings — is a “myth” circulating around the nation’s capital.
“It is true, there’s violence across the whole country. Do you disavow violence from Antifa that’s happening in Portland right now?” Austen Fletcher, host of the “FleccasTalks” series, asked Nadler.
“That’s a myth that’s being spread only in Washington, D.C.,” Nadler responds.
I ran into Jerry Nadler in DC and asked him to disavow the Antifa violence/rioting in Portland.
His response?
“THATS A MYTH” pic.twitter.com/veImyE2rju
— Essential Fleccas 🇺🇸 (@fleccas) July 27, 2020
“About Antifa in Portland?” the man pressed.
“Yes,” Nadler says as he is moved towards a waiting vehicle by a handler.
“Sir, there’s videos everywhere online, there’s fires and riots, they’re throwing fireworks at federal officers. DHS is there,” the man continues, a reference to the Department of Homeland Security.
“Look online,” the man implores. “That’s crazy, Mr. Nadler.”
Afterward, a woman says to Fletcher and another man with him, “Wow so…he thinks it’s fake news.”
“Antifa’s a myth,” the second man says.
“Yeah, Antifa’s a myth in Portland. Meanwhile, the whole city’s on fire and they’re trying to burn down the courthouse,” says Fletcher.
User “An0maly” posted that brief on-the-street encounter video with another in split-screen showing scenes of violence from Portland.
Democrat Ralph Nadler says to @fleccas it’s a “myth” that violence & fires are happening in Portland.
Let’s check the tapes. pic.twitter.com/2eDpwUPyzT
— An0maly (@LegendaryEnergy) July 27, 2020
Video of the violence in Portland, though it may be confined to several blocks around the Hatfield Federal Courthouse, is certainly no myth, as evidenced by the hundreds of videos posted to social media by reporters on the ground including Andy Ngo.
In fact, AP reporter Mike Balsamo noted Sunday he spent a few days inside the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse with “US Marshals” and reported: “Mortars were being fired off repeatedly, fireworks & flares shot into the lobby, frozen bottles, concrete, cans & bouncy balls regularly whizzed over the fence at high speeds.”
I spent the weekend inside the Portland federal courthouse w/ the US Marshals. Mortars were being fired off repeatedly, fireworks & flares shot into the lobby, frozen bottles, concrete, cans & bouncy balls regularly whizzed over the fence at high speeds. https://t.co/PU4xbzwniY
— Mike Balsamo (@MikeBalsamo1) July 27, 2020
In an accompanying story, Balsamo and co-author Gillian Flaccus note that several dozen federal agents with instructions to guard the courthouse and protect the property are living in fear of their lives as they face off nightly against thousands of violent demonstrators:
To the protesters, the men inside the battened down courthouse are at best thoughtless political minions, at worst murderous henchmen. To the agents inside, the demonstrators that pack the downtown each night are violent anarchists, an angry sea of humanity bent on hurting — or even killing — federal agents doing their job.
“It’s scary. You open those doors out, when the crowd is shaking the fence, and … on the other side of that fence are people that want to kill you because of the job we chose to do and what we represent,” one Deputy U.S. Marshal said, requesting anonymity because he had already been identified by protesters and doxed online.
“I can’t walk outside without being in fear for my life,” he added. “I am worried for my life, every time I walk outside of the building.”
As for Nadler’s claim that Antifa is a ‘myth,’ members of the Portland group have been interviewed on CNN in the past. Also, the Portland group — Rose City Antifa — has a website explaining that it was founded in October 2007.
Other Twitter users were equally baffled by Nadler’s claim.
**Warning: Strong language
What’s happening in Portland is NOT “a peaceful protest” as the mainstream media claims. Antifa is trying to destroy what America stands for.
And elected Democrats like Jerry Nadler are fine with letting it happen. https://t.co/fs4TBXAH6T
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) July 27, 2020
Uhhhh derrr… those are Peaceful anarchists pic.twitter.com/kRHIzLisX2
— 🇺🇸 turbo S Patriot 🇺🇸 (@DrMichaelSutter) July 27, 2020
Why is he walking like he just shit himself
— E.H. (@MRe_hod) July 27, 2020
Dems filled with craziness. He Pelosi Schumer Waters and so many and the squad. Filled with stupidity. How do these guys get elected again and again.
— MY LOVE (@kathryn35841457) July 27, 2020
Nadler and the entire DNC have sold whatever souls they have to the radical leftists.
Does he not realize that this video will be seen by millions?
Why not express at least some measure of concern?
— Do I have a pulse? (@robertpgill) July 27, 2020
This is what kills me….Demonrats can’t even have a normal conversation to debate facts. They just throw out a flippant answer then walk away!!!
— Cathy Holcombe (@CathyisHealthy) July 27, 2020
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- Jan. 6 committee chair Benny Thompson offers a stunning take on potential Trump criminal actions - January 2, 2022
- Life-long New Yorker posts ‘sad’ Twitter ode on post-pandemic Big Apple being ‘shadow of its former self’ - January 2, 2022
- NYPD officer shot in head in police lot as he slept in vehicle between shifts - January 2, 2022
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!