One glaring blind spot in the mainstream media coverage of CHAZ was how the space gave platform to violent… — Andy Ngo

Every use of force by officers, whether it be tear gas, smoke, pepper balls, or arrests, was heavily scrutinized. Out-of-context video snippets were released on social media and published by news outlets, generating mass rage and universally negative press for law enforcement and the Trump administration. The officers were called ‘Trump’s gestapo,’ ‘storm troopers,’ and ‘thugs’ by Democratic politicians and the media.

Despite what was happening before our eyes, left-wing politicians and media denied antifa played a role. House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) called the movement ‘imagery’ during a congressional debate. And even though the public could plainly see masked militants openly planning and carrying out riot operations, we were still told there is ‘no evidence’ of organized antifa. ‘Who caused the violence at protests? It wasn’t antifa,’ declared one gaslighting Washington Post ‘fact-checker’ analysis, for example.

At every step of the way, the Portland City Council demonized its police force, accusing them of racism and brutality… They pushed for the Portland Police’s Gun Violence Reduction Team to be dissolved after Floyd’s death, claiming it targeted blacks. The mayor gave his support, and the unit was dismantled. In the following months, shootings and homicides in Portland spiked to the highest level in decades. Compared to the year prior, shootings in July and August 2020 in Portland increased by almost 200 percent.