Portland’s top prosecutor said Saturday that his city is being “terrorized” by outsiders, following a fatal Saturday night clash between supporters of Black Lives Matter and President Trump. The Portland police declined to identify the victim of the shooting or any potential suspects, but local right-wing activists said the victim was one of their own.
“Our community is being terrorized by people coming into Portland for the explicit purpose of committing violence,” said Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt Sunday afternoon. The killing took place just five blocks south of the Multnomah County Justice Center.
“We all saw this coming,” added Ted Wheeler, the mayor of Portland, where protests have gripped the city for months. Wheeler, a Democrat, has been singled out by Trump for his handling of the unrest. The mayor in turn blasted Trump as an instigator. “Now you want to stop the violence you helped to create?… What America needs is for you to be stopped.”
Later, the mayor struck a more conciliatory tone, suggesting he and Trump should “work together...to help move this country forward.”