Footage that apparently shows racial justice protesters burning the Bible and American flags early Saturday morning in Portland, Oregon, has sparked controversy.
The video: In videos that have circulated widely online, Black Lives Matter protesters appear use a Bible to start a bonfire outside Portland’s Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse.
One clip, produced by Ruptly, a Berlin-based division of the Russian state-owned network RT, captures protesters chanting, “F— Trump,” as an American flag is added to the blaze, followed by sticks and newspaper.
- A bystander next to the bonfire holds a sign that says, “ALL LIVES CAN’T MATTER UNTIL BLACK LIVES MATTER.”
Local news station KOIN reported that a group called Moms United for Black Lives Matter put out the fire with bottles of water.
- KOIN also reported that protesters started a second fire later with plywood stripped from nearby buildings.
- No arrests were made, according to a police statement to KOIN.
The reaction: Many conservatives expressed outrage at the video on Twitter.
Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Georgia Republican, said it illustrates “the radical Left’s vision for the country” and exhorted her followers, “We can’t let them win.”
Rep. Lee Zeldin, a New York Republican, similarly warned: “These people setting fire to a bible and a US flag and chanting ‘f*** Trump,’ want to chart our country’s policies, values, and future. We must ensure that never happens.”
Elizabeth Harrington, the Republican National Committee’s spokesperson, contrasted the police tolerance of violent protests in Portland with the Saturday arrest of pro-life protesters chalking “Black Pre-Born Lives Matter” outside a Planned Parenthood in Washington, D.C.
Donald Trump Jr., the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, compared the Portland protesters’ actions to those of historical fascists.
Saturday was the 65th consecutive day that Portland has hosted anti-racism and anti-police protests, which have frequently featured arson and rioting around the area of the federal courthouse.
- The Department of Justice on Friday issued a press release announcing charges against 18-year-old Portland resident Gabriel Agard-Berryhill for setting fire to the courthouse.
- President Donald Trump recently sent federal law enforcement officers to restore order in Portland as well as in nearby Seattle over the objections of local officials.
