The Volokh Conspiracy

Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent

Volokh Conspiracy

Meanwhile in Portland, Roosevelt and Lincoln Get Canceled

Statues of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt are the latest victims of rioters in Portland.

|

Revelers celebrating the Los Angeles Lakers' NBA Championship crowded the streets and remained mostly peaceful in Los Angeles (even if there was not much mask wearing). Meanwhile in Portland, a "day of rage" produced anohter round of vandalism, looting, and wanton destruction. From the Oregonian:

A group of protesters toppled statues of former presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln and shattered the entrance to the Oregon Historical Society in Portland's South Park Blocks late Sunday before moving into other areas of downtown, smashing storefronts and engaging in other acts of destruction.

As is becoming increasingly common, the "protestors" discouraged filming or recording of their activities:

The organizers had signaled their aggressive stance for the night, calling for "direct action" and demanding that the video live-streamers and photographers who had become staples of such events stay away.

People in the crowd were repeatedly admonished not to film. Passersby who happened upon the group were ordered by demonstrators to stop filming or delete photographs, including an apartment resident who had lasers shined at his eyes and a liquid thrown in his face as he appeared to shoot video of the scene from his terrace.