‘War-like’ nights in Portland as federal agents fend off Antifa attacks and city leaders do nothing

Portland, Oregon continues to experience nightly unrest as Antifa militants target a federal immigration facility with increasingly aggressive tactics. Demonstrators have deployed shields, rocks, high-powered lasers, and improvised weapons in repeated assaults on the building and federal officers.

Recent actions include barricading entrances, arson attempts, and doxxing federal personnel. Independent journalists reported that rioters sealed doors and attempted to ignite the facility while agents were trapped inside. Federal Protective Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have responded with aggressive dispersal tactics, including surprise advances and non-lethal munitions, creating what many describe as “war-like” conditions in the city.

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson has doubled down on the city’s sanctuary policies, declining to direct the Portland Police Bureau to intervene aggressively. Wilson has cited concerns for resident safety and a refusal to “aid” federal enforcement operations.

This approach has frustrated neighbors of the federal building, who report constant noise, vandalism, and fears for their safety. Some families and elderly residents have reportedly been forced to relocate.

The Portland Police has also remained largely absent or minimally involved in crowd control, a stance that has exacerbated tensions between residents, local officials, and federal authorities.

Nationally, the Department of Homeland Security reports a 413% increase in assaults on ICE officers in recent months. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has pledged continued enforcement operations despite escalating violence.

Authorities confirm more than 25 local charges have been filed, including five for arson. Federal prosecutors have also brought cases, including one against a Portland man facing up to eight years in prison for spitting on an officer during a drone-related incident.

The unrest has left a costly trail of destruction, with damages estimated at $32 million. Portland schools in the vicinity have temporarily closed due to chemical exposure from repeated clashes.

While local media coverage has remained limited, independent journalists such as Andy Ngo and Katie Daviscourt have extensively documented the violence and its impact. Their reporting highlights ongoing clashes, the destruction of public property, and the lack of arrests following direct attacks on federal agents. According to Ngo, the rioters this summer ziptied the ICE building doors shut and then tried to light the building on fire, with agents inside, and no response from local police.

Rose City Antifa was founded in 2007 in Portland and is the oldest and most actively violent of the known active Antifa groups in the US. Since 2016, it has been one of nine chapters of the Torch Network coalition, a network of Antifa groups.

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