As President Trump said this week, “what you’re seeing in Portland and Seattle, New York, Chicago is really the Democrat roadmap for America”.

And the new district attorney in Portlandia’s Multnomah County is proving the president right.

Mike Schmidt announces that will NOT prosecute felony riot, escape, harassment, interfering with an officer, criminal trespass and a number of other offenses and that charges of assault on an officer will be subject to "high scrutiny”.

Schmidt says:

“in order to advance public safety, we must not only prevent crime, but we must also promote economic and housing stability, educational opportunities, strong family and community relationships, and the mental and physical health of all those in our community. If we leverage the full force of the criminal justice system on individuals who are peacefully protesting and demanding to be heard, we will cause irreparable harm to them individually and to our society. The prosecution of people exercising their rights to free speech and assembly in a non-violent manner takes away from the limited resources that we have to prosecute serious crimes and to assist crime victims.”

He says his office:

“will presumptively decline to prosecute a case where the most serious offense is a city ordinance violation or where the crime(s) do not involve deliberate property damage, theft or the use or threat of force against another person.

Crimes in this category include:

-Interfering with a peace officer or parole and probation officer (ORS 162.247)

-Disorderly conduct in the second degree (ORS 166.025)

-Criminal trespass in the first and second degree (ORS 164.245 & ORS 164.255)

-Escape in the third degree (ORS 162.145)

-Harassment (ORS 166.065)

-Riot (166.015) – Unless accompanied by a charge outside of this list.

Furthermore, the new policy will require that before issuing, any referred charge of “Resisting arrest” (ORS 162.315) or “Assaulting a public safety officer” (ORS 163.208) must be subjected to the highest level of scrutiny by the deputy district attorney reviewing the arrest. Consideration will be given to the chaos of a protesting environment, especially after tear gas or other less-lethal munitions have been deployed against community members en masse.”

So if the situation gets so volatile that police are forced to use crowd control tactics, Schmidt is basically signaling to BLM/Antifa that they can attack cops with impunity.

In addition, his office says that “when a person is charged with a misdemeanor or felony crime that causes only financial harm during a protest, there will be a presumption that the individual will either be offered conditional dismissal after restitution is paid to the victim or when other amends to the community are made, such as restorative justice with the impacted victim.

Crimes in this category include:

-Criminal mischief in the second and third degree (ORS 164.345 & ORS 164.354)

When the value is under $1,000

-Theft in the first, second and third degree (ORS 164.043, ORS 164.045 & ORS 164.055)

When the value is under $1,000 or when the theft is committed during a riot

Burglary in the second degree if combined with any criminal mischief or theft allegation.

Michael Berry

About Michael Berry