Criminal anarchists have had a strong presence in Portland since at least the late 90s.
In the mid 2000s, antifa types in Portland, they called themselves anarchists then, burned the American flag and effigies of American soldiers at anti-war protests. Saw it myself. It was a group of about 50 that was causing trouble up and down the march. The basic liberals, which made up the overwhelming bulk of the crowd, were not impressed.
And I miss the liberals of the 2000s. Which is really, what this thread is all about for me. The Left has lost its way, and it's so obsessed with hating the right that they can't even see their own hypocrisy anymore.
Some people have pegged the turn to the death of Ted Kennedy. I read an interview with Ralph Nader the other day, and he pegged it to corporate interests beginning their takeover the party in 1979.
The legendary consumer advocate describes his decades-long perspective on what brought the Democratic Party to its current state of collapse.
theintercept.com