Portland Mayor Steps Up to Evict “Autonomous Zone” Anarchists By Force

Did Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler just find a spine hiding in his back closet or something? He must have, because his actions on Tuesday were the most aggressive he’s taken all year against the rabid anarchists and Black Lives Matter protesters who have turned the city into a playground for mayhem since May. Perhaps emboldened by his recent reelection win (over a self-avowed Antifa supporter, no less), Wheeler sent the cops in this week to forcibly evict an “autonomous zone” camping out in North Portland.

“Protesters have been camping out for months to prevent the eviction of the Kinney family but on Tuesday morning, tensions escalated and protesters used fences and barricades set up by law enforcement officials to surround the home, which has been named the ‘Red House on Mississippi’ due to its location on Mississippi Ave. in North Portland,” reported Newsweek.

The so-called autonomous zone was a sad-looking affair, even by the standards previously set by Seattle – a pathetic collection of cardboard boxes, graffiti-painted signs, and shoddily constructed fencing. Its reason for being? The plight of the Kinneys, as mentioned above. Protesters are aggrieved that the family is being evicted after the bank foreclosed on their home on which they still owe $100,000. The activists argue that eviction should be suspended due to the pandemic, and they have accused the bank of moving forward on the proceeding more quickly because a nearby home just sold for more than a million dollars.

When the city was unresponsive to the demands of the protesters, they took a page out of Seattle’s book and set up the autonomous zone.

“Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler authorized Portland police to use ‘all lawful means’ to clear protesters from a home on North Mississippi Avenue Tuesday evening. The house has been the site of protests for months as demonstrators rally against the eviction of a Black and Indigenous family,” reported Oregon Public Broadcasting.

After the protesters had been removed, police explained that there was more going on inside the Red House than mere public dissent.

“We are aware of the stockpile of weapons and the presence of firearms,” Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said. “We are aware of the threat to the community, to media, to police. We’ve seen the attacks. The Portland police will enforce the law and use force if necessary to restore order to the neighborhood.”

Unfortunately, things are not over yet. As of Wednesday night, protesters were still seen inside the encampment and there is something of a standoff developing between them and police. Hopefully this can be resolved without anyone getting hurt.

However, we will just say: This is what happens when you play footsie with these Antifa scumbags. The temper tantrums don’t just continue; they grow worse.