RandomGuy
08-12-2020, 05:35 PM
Man seen in area of homemade explosive at Portland protest ID’ed as ex-Navy SEAL
Shortly after someone threw makeshift explosive devices at protesters in Southeast Portland early Saturday morning, a man wearing dark clothes and carrying a military style helmet with night-vision goggles was videotaped near the area.
Multiple people say the man in the video appears to be a retired U.S. Navy SEAL and former Central Intelligence Agency contractor who has worked in Afghanistan — and spoken out on social media against the nightly Portland demonstrations.
No one was injured in the small explosions, but the attack suggests a new, dangerous dynamic. For the past 73 days of protests against systemic racism and police violence, there has been a continuous fear that right-wing demonstrators would become involved, leading to violence. Now, it appears that may have happened.
In a livestreamed video filmed during protests demanding the police be defunded or abolished, roughly a dozen protesters are seen gathered in Southeast Portland’s Laurelhurst Park. Some people shout toward a darkened wooded area and point flashlights, calling for someone to come out of the woods. An object then lands near protesters and explodes into a bright light and a plume of smoke.
Protesters shout and call after a person who is not visible in the video. In a later video, a protester shows a second unexploded device that appears to be a pipe containing a bag of black powder.
https://www.opb.org/article/2020/08/10/man-seen-in-area-of-homemade-explosive-at-portland-protest-ided-as-ex-navy-seal/
Shortly after someone threw makeshift explosive devices at protesters in Southeast Portland early Saturday morning, a man wearing dark clothes and carrying a military style helmet with night-vision goggles was videotaped near the area.
Multiple people say the man in the video appears to be a retired U.S. Navy SEAL and former Central Intelligence Agency contractor who has worked in Afghanistan — and spoken out on social media against the nightly Portland demonstrations.
No one was injured in the small explosions, but the attack suggests a new, dangerous dynamic. For the past 73 days of protests against systemic racism and police violence, there has been a continuous fear that right-wing demonstrators would become involved, leading to violence. Now, it appears that may have happened.
In a livestreamed video filmed during protests demanding the police be defunded or abolished, roughly a dozen protesters are seen gathered in Southeast Portland’s Laurelhurst Park. Some people shout toward a darkened wooded area and point flashlights, calling for someone to come out of the woods. An object then lands near protesters and explodes into a bright light and a plume of smoke.
Protesters shout and call after a person who is not visible in the video. In a later video, a protester shows a second unexploded device that appears to be a pipe containing a bag of black powder.
https://www.opb.org/article/2020/08/10/man-seen-in-area-of-homemade-explosive-at-portland-protest-ided-as-ex-navy-seal/