By suzanne downing 
On Thursday evening, conservative independent journalist Nick Sortor, 27, of Washington, DC, was arrested outside the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland as he was covering a protest that had turned unruly.
According to the Portland Police Bureau, Sortor was charged with second-degree disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. He was booked and later released without bond.
The ICE facility has been the scene of near-nightly protests since early summer, as opponents of President Donald Trump’s deportation policies continue demonstrations that have often escalated into violence.
Eyewitnesses and video from the Oct. 2 protest show a group of demonstrators burning an American flag near the facility. Sortor, who has built a following on social media site X as he has documented protests and riots, intervened to put out the fire and retrieve the flag. That move drew attention from protesters, some of whom he described as aligned with Antifa.
Footage shows Sortor being shoved into a flower bed and struck by members of the crowd, who also damaged his camera equipment. Sortor later said he swung in self-defense but missed and then attempted to disengage. He approached Portland police on site for assistance but was arrested instead of the individuals he accused of assaulting him.
PPB has not released detailed information about the decision to charge Sortor but stated that its Rapid Response Team made multiple arrests throughout the evening while responding to “criminal activity” in the crowd.
The South Portland ICE facility has been a flashpoint for confrontations in recent weeks. Protesters have clashed with federal agents, vandalized property, and burned flags. Federal authorities have criticized the Democrat-run city for limited police intervention.
Earlier this week, citizen reporter Katie Daviscourt was attacked while covering protests outside the facility; no arrests were made in that case. ICE Director Tom Homan has called the situation “dangerous and unsustainable,” citing repeated violence directed at the federal property.
President Trump has repeatedly condemned Portland’s handling of unrest, describing the city as “out of control.”
Sortor was released within hours of his arrest and posted online calling the incident unjust, accusing local authorities of siding with violent demonstrators. His arrest prompted widespread criticism from conservative commentators and activists, who point out that citizen journalists covering the protests are being targeted while more violent actors go unpunished.
Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke directly with Sortor on Friday, and the Department of Justice confirmed that its Civil Rights Division is reviewing whether the arrest violated press protections. The White House also signaled possible repercussions, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announcing a review of federal funding to Portland in light of the city’s disengaged approach to violent rioting.
Meanwhile, federal investigators are also looking into broader allegations of Antifa influence within Portland’s political and policing systems.
Suzanne Downing
He was at the caught at the wrong place, wrong time.
Don’t get between police and their work else you look like a threat
In the heat of that battle the independent journalist was likely belligerent when he approached the officers. Portland Police have been at war since 2020
In 1935 Louisiana Gov. Huey Long, a Democrat, has been quoted as saying, “When fascism comes to America, it will come under the guise of anti-fascism.”
ANTIFA IS a terrorist group and the police as well as ICE need to start handling these incidents as such in the same way gang violence and any attacks on private citizens as well as reporters at the scene.
What will Portland look like when the feds decide it is time to stop the funding and the city will be on its own dime to control this madness?
I wouldnt want to be a citizen or a policeman in that mess.