Oregon Had to Clear Parks and Streets of Staging Areas to End Riot Activity -- They Did and No Rioting at Federal Courthouse on Thursday

AP featured image — A worker washes graffiti off the sidewalk in front of the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse in downtown Portland, Ore., on Wednesday, July 8, 2020, as two agents with the U.S. Marshals Service emerge from the boarded-up main entrance to examine the damage. Protesters who have clashed with authorities in Portland, Ore., are facing off not just against city police but a contingent of federal agents who reflect a new priority for the Department of Homeland Security: preventing what President Donald Trump calls “violent mayhem.” The agents clad in military-style uniforms include members of an elite Border Patrol tactical unit, and their deployment to protect federal buildings and monuments is a departure for an agency created to focus on threats from abroad. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)

I noted first for RedState readers early on Wednesday morning that serious talks had taken place on Monday and Tuesday between the Governor of Oregon and senior officials of the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.

Negotiations Under Way For Oregon To Provide Security For Portland Courthouse.

Those talks included the Deputy Director of the FBI, who met with the Oregon Governor Kate Brown, likely to provide her with intelligence on the nature of the worsening threat posed by escalating levels of violence in the nightly rioting at the federal courthouse in Portland.

Later in the day on Wednesday, after the Governor and Secretary of Homeland Security had put out separate statements that seemed to not be fully in agreement on the terms of a resolution that both sides were announcing having reached, I explained to RedState readers in this article that DHS was demanding specific action by the Governor — which she had acknowledged having agreed to — namely that the state and local police would clear the parks and streets around the federal courthouse.

DHS Demands Oregon Governor Clear Parks And Streets Around Courthouse

I took specific note of language in Secretary Chad Wolf’s press release announcing the agreement where he said:

That plan includes a robust presence of Oregon State Police in downtown Portland. State and local law enforcement will begin securing properties and streets, especially those surrounding federal properties….

With 24 hours to prepare, what did the State of Oregon and City of Portland muster up the courage to do today, after having failed to take any action for the prior 63 days while rioters attacked the federal building each night? Something as simple as this:

In anticipation of the handover from Federal agents to State Police, the city have cleared the tents in the park pic.twitter.com/zg6PHqxtJd

— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) July 30, 2020

Lownsdale Park getting cleared this morning. Mayor Wheeler says it was at the request of State Police as part of deal for feds to leave pic.twitter.com/w1c852de7d

— Rebecca Ellis (@Rjaellis) July 30, 2020

The park is now being de-benched pic.twitter.com/tKtRcnlMXa

— Rebecca Ellis (@Rjaellis) July 30, 2020

So, what happened on Thursday night once the rioters were denied a staging area in the park — no medical aid stations, no water stations, no “Riot Rib” sellers — and the local and state police were present on the streets surrounding the courthouse?

Take a look:

It's officially after midnight and the protest in Portland tonight is super chill.

It's almost like the federal presence did the opposite of "quelling." https://t.co/zTozC1WH1R

— Ryan Haas (@ryanjhaas) July 31, 2020

It slay midnight and there’s still hundreds of people here. There’s been no police confrontation, no tear gas, and no arrests. pic.twitter.com/BHhzGSjO86

— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) July 31, 2020

Portland protest day 63 pic.twitter.com/SbH2sl47ml

— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) July 31, 2020

Day 65 downtown Portland. Crowd around some speakers chanting and listening. pic.twitter.com/zotZ2kT087

— Griffin – Live from the Justice Center (@GriffinMalone6) July 31, 2020

As I predicted on Wednesday, the centerpiece to the agreement was the DHS’s demand that the State and City take back control of the areas around the courthouse — not just defending the building itself. Governor Brown did not even acknowledge that she had agreed to that term, and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler never even hinted that he had any agreement with DHS.

Yet, here it was Thursday morning and both were doing exactly what Sec. Wolf demanded as part of his announcement of the deal.

Then when the normal “riot hour” arrived — no rioting took place.

The rioters lacked the comfortable and uncontested venue from which to plan and launch their attacks. They had no infrastructure to support what they wanted to do, and more importantly, they knew they no longer had the tacit support of the Mayor of Portland and Governor of Oregon to continue their efforts to attack the federal property and federal agents inside.

How long will it last? Hard to predict. Will Antifa/BLM move on to another city with an equally accommodating state and local political establishment, or will they just pause long enough for the state and local forces to be thinned out?

We might find out by this weekend.

As they say in Major League Baseball, Friday looks like it might be an ANTIFA travel day.