Riot violence changes calculus for Biden and media

BY JACK CROWE

August 31, 2020

A MAN WAS FATALLY SHOT IN PORTLAND, ORE., on Saturday as the city's nightly rioting entered its fourth month.

After ceding the streets to leftist gangs for some 90 consecutive nights, a group of Trump supporters drove in a caravan through downtown Portland on Saturday. Predictably, street fights broke out as day turned to night and at some point in the melee, an unidentified man affiliated with the right-wing group Patriot Prayer was shot and killed in a parking lot.

The violence, coming as it did on the heels of the fatal shootings in Kenosha, Wis., seems to have changed the calculus for the decisionmakers in the Biden campaign and America's elite media institutions.

For the first time, Biden issued an extensive statement condemning the lawlessness that's been on display in America's major cities for more than three months. In addition to condemning "violence of every kind by anyone, whether on the left or the right" Biden tied the recent surge in street clashes to President Trump's characteristic divisiveness.

"What does President Trump think will happen when he continues to insist on fanning the flames of hate and division in our society and using the politics of fear to whip up his supporters?"

The mainstream media's opinionmakers have also begun to reflect on the disorder and have settled on two familiar culprits: white supremacists and Russians.

While Trump's rhetoric may be to blame for the climate we now find ourselves in, it should be noted that the suspect in Saturday's shooting seems to have been the furthest thing from a Trump supporter.

The alleged shooter, Michael Forest Reinoehl, declared his allegiance to Antifa on social media and has affiliated himself with the current wave of anti-racist activism, using the phrases "#blacklivesmatter," "#anewnation" and "#breonnataylor" to caption pictures he took at demonstrations this summer.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler also laid the weekend's violence at the president's feet and seemed to suggest that Trump's calls for a more forceful response were in some way unfair.

"You've tried to divide us more than any other figure in modern history," Wheeler said, addressing the president during a press conference Sunday. "And now, you want me to stop the violence that you helped create. What America needs is for you to be stopped so that we can come back together as one America."

Trump has responded by calling Wheeler a "fool" for refusing his offer of National Guard troops to quell the unrelenting rioting. Wheeler claims that a National Guard presence would only inflame the violence and has instead put together a "19-point Plan to Achieve Racial Justice."

The plan, which Wheeler touted during the Sunday news conference, calls for dismantling the Portland police department's gun violence reduction team and other units that were "seen as biased."

Meanwhile, the mayhem that gripped Kenosha last week has been all but stamped out thanks to the presence of 1,000 National Guard troops.

Trump Will Visit Kenosha Despite Wisconsin Governor Asking Him to 'Reconsider'

The White House announced on Saturday that President Trump would visit Kenosha, Wis., after rioters caused millions of dollars in damage to the city following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Trump will arrive in the city on Tuesday, even after Wisconsin governor Tony Evers and Kenosha mayor John Antaramian expressed concern over the visit. Rioters have burned businesses to the ground and faced off against local police and National Guard members after a Kenosha officer shot Blake seven times during an arrest.

The rioting has died down after over 1,000 National Guard members were deployed to the city.

China Forces Unproven COVID Treatments on Xinjiang Residents in Lockdown

China is forcing some residents of Xinjiang Province to take concoctions of traditional Chinese medicine to treat coronavirus, even though the medicines are not scientifically proven to be effective against the illness, the Associated Press reported on Monday.

Xinjiang has been under lockdown for 45 days following the appearance of over 800 cases of coronavirus. However, lockdown measures in the province have been far more draconian than elsewhere in China, with some residents forced to drink traditional medicine, others locked inside their homes and made to quarantine for more than 40 days. The medicine, which is being distributed throughout Xinjiang in white bottles, is made of unknown compounds.

The measures apply to Uighur and Han Chinese residents alike.

Biden Condemns Portland Violence, Accuses Trump of 'Fanning the Flames of Hate'

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden released a statement Sunday accusing President Trump of "fanning the flames of hate" that he said led to the Saturday night violence in Portland that resulted in one death.

"As a country, we must condemn the incitement of hate and resentment that led to this deadly clash," Biden said in his statement. "It is not a peaceful protest when you go out spoiling for a fight. What does President Trump think will happen when he continues to insist on fanning the flames of hate and division in our society and using the politics of fear to whip up his supporters?"

A man was shot and killed Saturday night during clashes in Portland between Black Lives Matter protesters and a caravan of Trump supporters who drove trucks through the downtown streets. The man appeared to be wearing thin blue line patches, which indicate support for police officers, and a hat with the logo for the right-wing group Patriot Prayer. Members of the caravan shot paintball guns from pickup trucks at protesters, who threw projectiles back at them.

Most Suspects Arrested in Kenosha Riots Live Outside City, According to Police

Kenosha police revealed on Sunday evening that most of the people arrested for rioting over the past week have an address outside the city itself.

In total, 175 people were arrested during the riots, which occurred after Kenosha police shot suspect Jacob Blake while attempting to arrest him for alleged domestic abuse and third-degree sexual assault. Of those 175 arrests, police said 102 had addresses from outside Kenosha.

Kenosha police said those arrested hailed from 44 different cities, although the cities were not identified. On Friday, police announced the arrest of nine people traveling in a bread truck, black school bus, and minivan with out of state license plates. The occupants of the vehicles had stopped at a gas station to fill fuel canisters when police made the arrests.