What You Need To Know About The Battle of Portland - bellingcat

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We’re living in a crisis that brings out the worst elements on both sides of the political equation. The longer the crisis goes on, the more destabilized the equation will be, unless top leadership tries to deescalate the situation,while working collaboratively with local leaders to maintain law and order.

Unilateral moves from the top can inflame tensions. An example from 88 years ago:

Here’s part of the story by Terence McArdle washingtonpost.com [edited at…for space]

On July 28, 1932, at the command of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, they marched down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol to launch an attack on World War I veterans. It was the height of the Great Depression. Nearly 20,000 unemployed veterans had converged on Washington to demand bonus payments from Congress and President Herbert Hoover. Led by Walter W. Waters, a former sergeant from Oregon, they called themselves the Bonus Army or Bonus Expeditionary Forces, a nod to World War I’s American Expeditionary Forces.

What happened in the nation’s capital in 1932 is being evoked this week as federal agents clash with protesters in Portland and President Trump orders more to Chicago. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) has denounced Department of Homeland Security forces in Portland, dubbing them “Trump’s troops.” On Saturday, one of those injured was a 53-year-old Navy veteran.

On July 18, federal officers broke the hand of Navy veteran Christopher David and sprayed chemical irritant in his eye during a protest in Portland, Ore. (Zane Sparling/The Portland Tribune via Storyful)

In 1932, many saw the Bonus Army as heroes.

“They made themselves into a symbol of the Depression — the symbol of the forgotten man,” said historian Lucy Barber, deputy executive director at the National Archives. “Their status as veterans and patriots gave them a much greater claim on the country. With the image of all the other people lining up at the soup kitchens — in some ways, they were considered the most deserving of those people.”

The former servicemen were scattered throughout the city, but two camps stood out — a group squatting around buildings slated for demolition east of the Capitol on Pennsylvania Avenue and a larger encampment in the Anacostia Flats, south of the 11th Street Bridge in what is now Anacostia Park. A rival group, the Worker’s Ex-Servicemen League, Communist vets at odds with Waters’s group, tented at 14th and D streets in Southwest Washington.

Hoover regarded the Pennsylvania Avenue encampment as an eyesore, no different from the other Depression shantytowns that his critics dubbed “Hoovervilles.” But there was a pretext to drive them out: The abandoned buildings were slated to be razed to make way for new construction in downtown Washington.

On July 28, Washington Police Chief Pelham Glassford — who had served as a brigadier general in World War I and donated food and lumber to the Bonus Army — ordered Waters to evacuate the Pennsylvania Avenue camp by 10 a.m. He roped off the area that surrounded the buildings. Wrecking cranes parked nearby.

The evicted veterans began leaving quietly. Then an angry group burst through the ropes. They hurled rocks and bricks, and one hit the police chief in the chest. Soon, truckloads of veterans streamed across the 11th Street Bridge from the Anacostia. The chief mobilized 500 officers.

In the melee that followed, one veteran grabbed a police officer’s nightstick. The officer, George A. Shinault, drew his gun and shot and killed two veterans…MacArthur ordered his cavalrymen to saddle up… For two hours, the veterans stood their ground. At 4 p.m., more than 200 soldiers on horseback, sabers drawn, descended on Pennsylvania Avenue from 15th Street and headed toward the Capitol…The infantry followed, donning gas masks and lobbing tear gas. The tanks rolled behind the cavalry… the White House sent Gen. George Van Horn Moseley with a written message that the president did not want the Anacostia camp evacuated. MacArthur ignored the message.

At 11 p.m., tanks blocked access to the bridge. Then the troops raised the 11th Street drawbridge. No one could enter or leave…Moving down the rows of huts, the soldiers lit folded-up newspapers and systematically torched the dwellings. With brutal efficiency, they cleared the Pennsylvania Avenue camp, then headed for the communist encampment. Tanks rolled over shacks. Occupants set fires, then ran with belongings…

The next day’s Washington Post carried a banner headline in capital letters: ONE SLAIN, 60 HURT AS TROOPS ROUT B.E.F. WITH GAS BOMBS AND FLAMES. Newsreels showed the military with tanks, routing unarmed veterans. To many, the action confirmed a view of Hoover as coldhearted and detached from reality. Reading a New York Times account, Democratic presidential candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt told his aide, future Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, “Well, Felix, this will elect me.”

Politicians had debated the bonuses for years. During World War I, President Woodrow Wilson gave extra payments to civilian government workers to help offset inflation but offered no comparable payments to the military. In 1924, Congress agreed to what veterans called “the tombstone bonus” because the payments couldn’t be redeemed until 1945. As president, Roosevelt opposed making the bonuses immediate, arguing they would be inflationary. But Congress overrode his second veto in 1936, and the bonuses were finally paid…

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MacArthur being involved in this is no surprise. He was first a politician.The Philippine veterans of WW II that I talked to consider Gen. Wainwright the true hero of the Philippines, not Douglas MacArthur.

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I’m not worried about this stuff in the least. I haven’t been reading/watching the news lately & it is out of sight, out of mind. Sharia Law, being forced into a gay marriage, global warming prevention & BLM rioters stealing the tires off of your trailer home, it’s all clickbait to keep the masses entertained & dollars rolling in for someone. I just wanted to point out that KP’s article was only slanted propaganda & the irony that all this civil unrest is in areas politically controlled by the party that claims to be the champion for the cause that all these people are upset about. Some of these cities have been controlled by Democrats for 80+ years & the rioters & looters are still outraged by the same things their grandparents were rioting & looting over in the 1960’s. It’s all happening again in Democrat strongholds. What the hell? I can’t be the only unattached sicko that finds all of it kind of humorous? It’s the same thing over & over.

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It might surprise some that Eisenhower and Patton were also part of the political “solution.”

In this case top “leadership” is working overtime to escalate the situation and draw the battle lines. It is a crass political move to energize the “base” that has already lost so much and will lose far more than the target of his insanity.

For those who wish to read more:

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I finally got around to reading a full article about these Portland riots & it is funnier & more ironic than I originally imagined. For over a century the people in my neck of the woods have been against federal agents running around & trying to force federal laws down our throats. We have been villified & called traitors, rednecks, backward thinking, racists, rebels, hillbillies, bumpkins, tax-dodgers & worse. Now the hippies in Oregon are doing it & they are hailed as heroes & victims by the media? What the F*CK?!? These same left wing dingbats wanted to abolish the 10th Amendment a couple of years ago when Obama was president & now they’re trying to burn down their federal buildings & kill the revue men? Absolutely hilarious!

GO PORTLAND!!! About time you people came around to the right way of thinking. Better late than never I guess.

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Don’t forget the irony that is a republican administration foregoing “states rights” and right leaning media cheering on the use of federal officers over the objections of local leaders. It’s truly opposite days in Oregon right now

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The people in Portland apparently aren’t as highly armed as the ones at the wildlife refuge a few years ago. Perhaps that is the difference in the response from the federal government.

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Just quit tearing up your “beloved city” and perhaps things may change for the better. Certainly won’t be worse. Sick of this shit.

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Be patient. Very soon, a great liberal statesman known for his great accomplishments will snatch the reins of power away from the evil monsters in the WH. The police death squads who have been viciously attacking peaceful protesters for no reason will be defrocked and neutered. The peaceful protesters will go back to playing video games in mom’s basement and forget all about their demands. Peace, love and understanding will once more settle over our fair land like a beautiful rainbow.

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If I start seeing NRA & 2nd Amendment Rights bumper stickers on Subarus, Volts & Teslas I’ll seek psychiatric help to make sure I’m not imagining this stuff up.

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What happened to Volvos? They used to be liberal cars. Who caterogizes cars or trucks based on politics anyway? I always thought that was silly
Hell, based on my political beliefs I’d have to buy a diesel powered truck with a seondary electric motor charged by solar and a tertiary nuclear reactor in order to be politically correct.

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The Law of American Extremists:
When a Democratic president is in power, heavily-armed right wing extremists feel threatened, and blow up federal buildings and seize wildlife refuges. When a Republican president is in power, lightly armed left wing extremists riot in the streets, and damage property.

If Biden wins, then in his presidency we will see right wing extremists seize or blow up Federal property. If POTUS45 gets a second term, left wing extremists will continue protesting and damaging federal property.

Extremism is the culprit in each case, and the solution lies in deescalating extremism. The problem is that part of the public views ‘deescalation’ and ‘compromise’ as dirty words. Usually, those people on both sides of the political spectrum who view the other side as inhuman demons, unworthy of consideration.

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Loved my 1962 Volvo 122S. Sold it before I went to initial classes at Piney Point. The 65 mustang was sold to cover expenses to get my 1st license . Old, reliable,and fairly conservative cars saved my ass. Except my 74 Grand Prix. Silver with a burgundy vinyl top and “Opera windows”. Trouble from the get go, and not from the reliable 350 engine. Only thing I ever protested was the Viet Nam war and the insurance settlement on the Pontiac. Never burned, looted, or murdered people . Wrong road people.

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I’ve been paying pretty close attention as a recent ex-Portlander who moved to a semi-rural, coastal county a year ago but still has lots of friends and family close to the ruckus. One thing you can be sure of is that this IS POLITICAL THEATER! Truly, as some reporters have noted, you can go a ½ mile in any direction from the frequently used “TV locations” and you’d never know anything was going on in Portland.

Except during the scheduled performance hours of around 10:00 pm or so to around 1:00 am or so, EVERYONE in Portland is going about their normal business. But during those hours, the designated, and heavily coached, performers show up and do this act. The nightly script varies but no question it is an act. Like some other kinds of “professional” combat performances on tv, people sometimes DO get hurt and the actors are very emotionally involved in the performance, not just going through an act.

What’s gotten interesting, for those who like this kind of politics, is the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that’s going on at an escalating pace in the courts. Here’s a pretty good local paper article on one of the hotspots of lawyering going on right now. Like my dad, who was a lawyer, used to say: “All it takes is a good riot and all the lawyers in town will make money for at least a year!” (He represented a local union suing the Longshoremen’s Union during the dock strikes of the 1930’s and once cross-examined Harry Bridges on the witness stand).

The Oregonian/Oregon Live on Federal tactics

There’s very little doubt that the rioters have TRIED to seriously damage or destroy the Federal Courthouse (the same one where their lawyer seconds are engaged during the day trying to get the Feds to stop doing what they’re doing!). It seems to me that, in “normal” times, the local police would be policing the general area and the Feds would only have to defend a perimeter of their own property. But the local police choose to take no action at all, anywhere, in support of defending any federal property, so the Feds, for obvious tactical reasons, have to range well away from their property and tackle the rioters where they are and hopefully before they get to the federal building(s). And after destructive acts against the property, they are pursuing them well out into the community…which they can legally do as the article point out.

Despite having made a lot of noise, the Portland police are pretty quiet and kind of non-violent for riot police, but the Feds give no quarter with their so-called “non-lethal” riot weapons. I think the intense protesting we’re hearing about that is because it works for the Feds and the rioters don’t like it.

But the theatre goes on…well over 50 days now!

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So what you are saying is these are just fad revolutionaries? That’s lame. No posers where I live at. We whistle a tune that celebrates the disappearance/murder of 2 federal agents while investigating tax evasion & illegal alcohol production regardless of who’s president. I guess true revolutionaries will just have to enjoy these Portland allies for the next 100 days or 4 years & 100 days and then being pro-10th Amendment will go out of favor with the media again. Enjoy it while it last.

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Honestly, that was so obtuse I don’t know what any of it meant. Murder of two agents? Alcohol production? You’ve lost me.

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When Obama was elected, I expected him to use his office to address the poverty and the crime destroying the lives of black youth in the inner cities. If that isn’t the kind of expectation that earned him a peace prize, please enlighten me. Like countless other big city democrats before him, he looked the other way. His domestic programs didn’t directly address those issues, probably because he was more interested in performing on the international stage.
Trump has accomplished some of what he promised but by and large he has wasted his mandate by sowing discord and his time ranting and tweeting like a compulsive 10 year old. He has shirked his responsibility in response to the pandemic and exacerbated the problem by politicizing the issue and refusing to follow practices recommended by health experts. He has alienated many of his supporters and in spite of the fact that his opponent is a do nothing washed up career politician with a tenuous grasp on reality, his re-election to a second term is in jeopardy.
He’s probably regretting the day he decided to run for president and missing the time when he spent his days jet setting with the likes of Jeffrey Epstein, playing golf with the CEO of Carnivore Cruise lines, gambling with other peoples’ money and grabbing women by the pussy.
In the sixties, the democrats made great leaps in promoting racial harmony by instituting social programs to correct racial inequality but W.E.B. Dubois’ “talented tenth” didn’t show up to claim the prize and the programs degenerated as inner city residents became wards of the state.
The democrats claim that the November election is in their pocket. We’ve seen them rely on that assumption before and eating crow but let’s assume this time they are right. These are the same democrats who are allowing anarchists free rein to destroy private and public property, assault law abiding citizens and attack the police, the same democrats who for decade after decade have turned a blind eye to the plight of their inner cities allowing poverty and crime to fester.
If they have a plan outside of taking a figurative knee and granting BLM all of its wishes, I’d like to hear all about it, otherwise we have dark days ahead of us.

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Last month, a protest turned to shit in Va Beach because our law enforcement tried to give them a bit of space… This past week, protestors without a permit (As if that makes a difference) found out we have had enough. Now they claim they are “victims” after being arrested for the mayhem they attempted because the policeman protected our city, and didn’t back down. Don’t cry foul if you are breaking the the law and being assholes. My hat is off to the men and women in blue that protect our city.

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You wrote the above about anti-federalists who are against government overreach implying it’s a fad based on who sits in the Oval Office. If that’s true then these rioters/protesters & those who take over federal wildlife refuges really aren’t revolutionaries & it’s only because of soar grapes & not having it their way based on election outcomes. That’s lame. When I think of true anti-federalists I think of the isolationist mountain people of the Appalachians. They have a theme song called Rocky Top & in it is a verse about some federal agents being murdered while looking for a moonshine still. If you watch college football you might recall those hillbillies will chant that song regardless of who’s president. Some people’s disdain for federal government overreach is longer than a 4 year election cycle.

Modern remix version:

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I pretty much agree with what you say, but I’m not sure about DuBois’ “talented 10th”. I think they DID show up.

Quite a few of then can be seen as talking heads appearing from time to time on one cable channel or another. They had 3, arguably 4, of them together on Fox last night: Larry Elder, Leo Terrill, Ben Carson are all well qualified to be in the “tenth.” And Fox’s contributor Lawrence Jones is a good candidate. Then there’s Clarence Thomas, Thomas Sowell, Walter Wiliams, Shelby Steele, and way too many to name.

I’m sure you can tell that the ones I’m most familiar with are, for the most part, the ones who have left the old democrat plantation. And Candace Owens strikes me as a worthy next generation member of the “tenth.” In fact, Dubois may have been too conservative in estimating only 10%.

But if your unstated implication is that, as far as the “race” problem, such as it actually exists and with reference to black americans, only black leadership can really solve the problem, I’d agree with that!