FREELANCING

Man Seen Near Pipe Bombs Thrown at Portland Protesters Is Retired Navy SEAL, Report Says

The man has previously claimed to be a CIA operative.

A man spotted at the scene around the time pipe bombs were thrown at Portland protesters is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL and former Central Intelligence Agency contractor who has worked in Afghanistan, a report says. The man, who has been identified by former colleagues to Oregon Public Broadcasting, was filmed by an activist walking quickly away from the area wearing dark clothes and carrying a military-style helmet with night-vision goggles. “Hey, you want to stop,” the activist says. “Look man, I’m not the guy you want to fuck with,” the man with the helmet says. A former business partner identified the man to OPB, and multiple people said the man in the video resembles a retired Navy SEAL who said in court documents he is a former contractor for the Central Intelligence Agency and that he held a top-secret security clearance.