A group of Christians who gathered for a prayer and worship time along the waterfront in Portland, Oregon were attacked by Antifa thugs spraying chemicals, destroying equipment and throwing things at the crowd.
Video of the incident captured by Andy Ngo, editor for the Post Millennial, shows large number of Antifa militants dressed all in black riot gear, carrying shields and various weapons confronting the group. The video shows them aggressively approaching worshipers, spraying them with what is assumed to be pepper spray, throwing projectiles and destroying sound equipment.
“Shocking video recorded in Portland show a large group of antifa carrying shields & weapons move in to attack & shut down a family Christian prayer & worship event on the waterfront. Police did not intervene,” Ngo wrote in one video post.
Shocking video recorded in Portland show a large group of antifa carrying shields & weapons move in to attack & shut down a family Christian prayer & worship event on the waterfront. Police did not intervene. pic.twitter.com/8JZuI1LPHo
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 8, 2021
An Antifa member can be heard yelling, “Where is your god now?”
The event had been announced by the Christian group featuring the outspoken Canadian preacher Artur Pawlowski. The pastor from Calgary became known earlier this year for berating lockdown mandates that unfairly targeted churches.
Responding to the announcement, Portland activists and Antifa groups took to Twitter to organize a protest.
Don’t forget this hate event on the 7th (this Saturday) https://t.co/2nL67bN10y
— Melissa “Claudio” Lewis (@Claudio_Report) August 5, 2021
“Welcome to Portland, you won’t like it here, pastor,” tweeted Portland Antifa member Melissa Lewis.
According to one of the militant antifa members who witnessed the violent direct action, antifa threw the Christian group's sound equipment into the Willamette River. The attendees, which included children, were hit with projectiles & pepper spray. pic.twitter.com/Fyh8SYjRa6
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 8, 2021
Ngo was able to interview a witness to the melee.
A woman attendee of the family Christian prayer event at the waterfront in downtown Portland describes what happened when antifa attacked them. pic.twitter.com/OtbHVftDor
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 8, 2021
“We were about to have a worship event and Antifa just rolled in like an angry mob [and] started throwing flash bombs at everybody, macing everybody,” one woman told Ngo. She also said they were attacked with rotten eggs, pepper spray and black paint.
“They threw a flash bomb into a group of kids,” she continued. “Yeah, they were ruthless.”
The Antifa militants destroyed the groups sound equipment, throwing it into the Willamette River. They did not stop there. One member tweeted that the group also stole their food and water.
According to this antifa account, after assaulting the attendees of the Portland family Christian prayer event, they stole their food and water. pic.twitter.com/BJ9ocq5UEh
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 8, 2021
The police never arrived. According to The Post Millennial, at the time of publication, “the Portland police department did not make any arrests and had no interactions with either group. The Portland mayor’s office has been reached for comment.”
Sadly Portland seems to be lost. Violence has become the norm and the police will not respond, not that you can blame them.