Portland, Oregon, remains out of control.
For the 57th straight night, Antifa rioters wreaked havoc in Rip City, and they have markedly increased their activity and violent behavior since the DHS began sending in law enforcement to attempt to help the city quell the unrest.
Members of the media have tried to convince the public that the rioters are actually peaceful. CNN's Brian Stelter claimed Monday that "right-wing media plays up Portland protest 'violence'" — despite the fact that that very weekend the overwhelmed Portland Police declared a riot.
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat who represents the Portland area, said that the city "is not out of control" but was dealing with "some people who have strong feelings."
But the evidence on the ground tells a different story, a story of a city that is severely out of control: Several people have been arrested on assault, arson, and property damage charges; young children are being led by adults to chant "F*** the police!"; the protesters have issued a list of demands that apparently must be met if the city wants them to stop their antics; rioters have been shooting lasers in the eyes of law enforcement, and now at least three officers may be permanently blind; and criminals have tried to break into and burn a Portland courthouse.
In response to the ongoing turmoil, President Donald Trump sent in federal officers, a move for which he has received major criticism.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the president's move un-American, while Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) labeled the federal officers "stormtroopers."
MSNBC's John Heilemann and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) have both claimed that Trump sent the feds to Portland as a sort of test run for when he refuses to leave office should he lose November's election.
So, what's really going on?
BlazeTV reporter Elijah Schaffer was on the scene and captured footage of the last night's craziness. And it's not good.
This is your blanket content warning: rough language and disturbing scenes.
The crazy evening began as it often does: A bunch of protesters — many of them without face masks — changing and preparing the mob for what's to come. Then it shortly moved to rioters apparently attempting to take down a security fence around the Portland federal courthouse.
In response, federal agents warned that if the protesters didn't stop trying to move the fence, the agents would use "impact crowd control munitions." Protesters responded by lobbing fireworks or flares over the fence:
After the protesters refused to comply, the feds began using tear gas and pepper bullets on the rioters, Schaffer reported:
The rioters, however, appeared undeterred, and began using electric saws to cut through the courthouse barrier and then threw frozen water bottles at officers who were attempting to protect the courthouse:
Schafer and other reporters, including Drew Hernandez, captured video of rioters throwing "explosive projectiles" and launching mortar-style fireworks at officers and at the courthouse:
Finally, law enforcement declared the protests an "unlawful assembly" and order the protesters to leave, but no one did. Instead, they stepped up their attacks, shooting high-powered lasers into officers' eyes:
According to Schafer, officers were injured, which prompted the "unlawful assembly" declaration:
And it appears that people were pretending to be press or were abusing their press credentials:
Finally, the federal officers launched an offensive on the rioters, pushing them back away from the courthouse:
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