Day 55 of the rioting outside the Hatfield Federal Courthouse in Portland brought there return of Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who made it a point to walk with the crowd to up to the gate on the black fencing that now surrounds the courthouse at the boundary of where the federal property meets the Portland City Street.  I’m sure we will hear tomorrow how the gathering at the courthouse was a peaceful demonstration — of what I’m not sure anyone is sure of any longer — but it appeared that “a good time was had by all.”

See, here’s a scene from the gathering in the early evening hours.

#portlandprotest day 55 pic.twitter.com/oF3XG2i8Mk

— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) July 23, 2020

Wheeler engaged in quite a bit of Kabuki Theater there on Wednesday night.  Here he begins to address the crowd that had gathered.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has now moved to the steps of the Justice Center to address a crowd of thousands. pic.twitter.com/FmpNgVvuRP

— Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) July 23, 2020

Next he was urged by the protesters to move to the front at the federal courthouse.

Protesters called on Wheeler to join the front lines at the federal courthouse. He is now going there. pic.twitter.com/f1d8laLY3l

— Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) July 23, 2020

Here is some footage involving Mayor Wheeler — looking a bit worse for the experience –walking and talking with the crowd as he leaves the area of the federal courthouse and heads back to the County Justice Center (“Don’t pay attention to those water bottles being thrown at you, I’m sure they are aiming for the feds”).

Wheeler leaves the scene. Protesters throw water bottles at him and curse him. He manages to get inside a building after a scuffle between protesters and his security detail. pic.twitter.com/eRn2gWlpqm

— Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) July 23, 2020

Quite a security detail he has there — considering he was only going out into some “peaceful protesters”.

Back at the federal courthouse, the protestors magically disappeared and rioters appeared in their place.

Federal protective services “do not attempt to damage the fence, failure will result in arrest or use of force, including impact munitions and riot control agents” pic.twitter.com/tLzqkf3rH9

— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) July 23, 2020

At this point, the kids decided to play with matches — again.

The fire rises pic.twitter.com/puQfv48MNm

— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) July 23, 2020

Then you get this mirth filled Tweet from the Seattle PD:

Protestors have now broken into a business in the 1100 block of Pike Street and are setting merchandise on fire. Please avoid the area if possible.

— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) July 23, 2020

“Protesters”?   What are they “protesting” inside businesses on Pike Street?  Are there federal law enforcement agents hiding inside those businesses?  How is “protesting” expressed by arson?  Did they use a color-tinted pigment in a flammable liquid to spell out “Black Lives Matter” or “I Can’t Breathe” on the walls inside the business before they set fire to the merchandise?

About this time the dynamic did change, as the “protests” turned to riots — according to the Portland Police who declared a riot — just as the “protesters” began rioting at the County Justice Center where the Mayor had gone.

Portland police have declared a riot and warn of the use of tear gas pic.twitter.com/XxK2comZuI

— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) July 23, 2020

Back at the Federal Courthouse, protesters sought to spread a fire inside the fenced area next to the building:

Portland protest day 55 pic.twitter.com/2KtRpGGDYh

— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) July 23, 2020

Avi Horowitz was interviewed by Sean Hannity today on the radio.  Horowitz made some important observations about last night’s rioting that is borne out by these videos.  Contrary to the claims made by the Democrat politicians in Oregon and Portland, the federal law enforcement agents are not acting in any provocative fashion.  As Horowitz explained, the agents remain inside the federal building behind locked doors and out of sight so long as the demonstrations outside remain peaceful.  Warnings are being broadcast that the fencing is on federal property, and efforts to tear down the fencing or otherwise do damage will be met with a law enforcement response.

So what do the rioters do?  They try to tear down the fence and they set fires inside the fenceline.  They do this for the very purpose of drawing the federal officers to come outside and deal with their destructive acts.  That leads to confrontations and efforts by the federal officers to disperse the crowds such as happened tonight with tear gas and non-lethal impact munitions.

It is the demonstrators — not the federal agents — who are provoking the clashes outside.

Here is what happens to the protester who is the last to realize everyone else is headed for the exit:

Federal officers run out an arrest a protestor, they took him inside the courthouse pic.twitter.com/W0qVp6ynTh

— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) July 23, 2020

I’m guessing Ted Wheeler was already go home and safely tucked into bed when “protesters” decided to put lives at risk.

This will not end well.  Blood will be shed, and people are going to die before this is over in Portland.