BLOGTOWN

What you're about to hear may be shocking, but... RUSSIA IS TRYING TO INTERFERE WITH OUR ELECTION!! Chris McGrath / Getty News

Here's your daily roundup of all the latest local and national news. (Like our coverage? Please consider making a recurring contribution to the Mercury to keep it comin'!)

• DO NOT MISS the latest installment of Alex Zielinski's Hall Monitor, in which she takes Mayor Wheeler to task for his "fair weather" attitude toward protesters: standing in solidarity with them while the national spotlight is on, and then reverting back to defending the violent actions of local police when it's not.

Now that the federal police have retreated from the front lines of Portland’s nightly demonstrations, Mayor Ted Wheeler has returned to demonizing those protesting police brutality. https://t.co/bvFeXnmZZL
— Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) August 7, 2020

• Meanwhile... SURPRISE! The same federal officers that teargassed and snatched peaceful protesters off the streets are not only still in town, but they'll probably still be here up until the election.

• In COVID news: The Oregon Health Authority has reported a whopping 423 new positive cases in the past 24 hours, and nine additional deaths. (That's the biggest jump in new cases since July 19.) Okay folks, since its going to be a nice weekend, make doubly sure to follow the Mercury's mantra: WASH YA DAMN HANDS, WEAR YA DAMN MASKS, AND KEEP YA DAMN DISTANCE!

We need your help. The economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis is threatening our ability to keep producing the quality reporting you've come to love. If you’re able, please consider making a monthly contribution to the Mercury.

"I'll get to this COVID problem in a minute, but I have to deal with the TikTok pandemic first!" Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! Interior crocodile alligator. I drive a Chevrolet movie theater. LET'S GO TO PRESS.

• On day 70 of Portland protests against systemic police brutality and the killing of Black Americans, around 200 protesters gathered outside the East Precinct where chanting ensued, along with a small garbage can being lit on fire, occasional arguments with neighbors, more overreaction and misinformation by the police, breaking the terms of the temporary restraining order to deny media access, and eventual bull rushing to push the protesters out of the neighborhood.

• Though before the protest even started the Portland Police was engaging in Twitter battles with teenage protesters, and got dragged across the internet for their trouble.

If you guys don't knock this silly shit off I'm gonna buy the only Dutch Brothers in Sherwood and charge cops triple.
— karms (@IanKarmel) August 6, 2020

• Despite overwhelming calls for police reform, the PPB and mayor's office remain obstinately resistant to any meaningful change and have called several press conferences this week in an attempt to control the narrative of the protests, incorrectly accusing demonstrators of abandoning the Black Lives Matter movement, being excessively violent, and according to Mayor Wheeler, actually helping Trump get reelected. That's some grade-A desperation right there.

• I'm just going to leave this related headline right here: "Portland police use of force against Black people remained disproportionate in 2019 even as numbers overall declined, report says."

Mayor Wheeler desperately and unconvincingly trying to convince you that Portland protesters are helping Trump. City of Portland screen shot

• The Portland Police and mayor's office have been trying REALLY HARD over the past few days to control the narrative around the city's continuing protests, alternately claiming that the demonstrations have nothing to do with the Black Lives Matter movement (anyone actually attending these protests know this is untrue), are out of control and excessively violent (they are not), distracting the police from "their real work" (such as dealing with those in mental health crisis, which they have no business doing), and according to Mayor Wheeler today, that the protests are helping Trump get reelected. (I wish they put this much energy into rethinking the police department!)

TLDR: Portland's mayor, chief of police, and fire bureau leadership allege protesters were trying to burn people alive last night.

Protesters and journalists say police trampled nonviolent protesters and clouded a residential neighborhood in tear gas. https://t.co/RoGTeMX6Fm
— Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) August 6, 2020

• Acting DHS Chief (and poster boy for toxic masculinity) Chad "CHAD" Wolf revealed today that federal officers are still in Portland, on standby, and will remain so until he's convinced no one will spray graffiti on the federal courthouse or shake its fence. In response, U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon has extended the restraining order against federal officers for two additional weeks, legally stopping them from threatening reporters and legal observers.

• On the heels of our reporting about the unknown health risks attached to the daily teargassing of peaceful protesters by federal officers, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden is demanding that AG Bill Barr and dull-witted frat boy Chad "CHAD!" Wolf reveal all the information they have about their potentially very dangerous munitions. Contributor Abe Asher has more.

• And lest we forget, one more time for those in the back: PORTLAND POLICE ARE STILL USING TEAR GAS.

Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the NRA, on the right, will have to pay back millions if New York's attorney general gets her way. Oh yeah, and his organization will be dissolved. Scott Olson/Getty Images

The chief executive of the National Rifle Association and several top lieutenants engaged in a decades-long pattern of fraud to raid the coffers of the powerful gun rights group for personal gain, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by the New York attorney general, draining $64 million from the nonprofit in just three years.

That chief executive is Wayne LaPierre, who's been the head of the NRA for 39 years. New York's attorney general is asking "a New York court to force LaPierre and three key deputies to repay NRA members for the ill-gotten funds and inflated salaries that her investigation found they took." She's also calling for LaPierre to be removed from his position, and for the NRA to be dissolved entirely.

We need your help. The economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis is threatening our ability to keep producing the quality reporting you've come to love. If you’re able, please consider making a monthly contribution to the Mercury.

A Portland police car sits in a cloud of tear gas at a protest in July. mathieu Lewis Rolland

Good morning, Portland! Hey, have you snagged one of our super cool limited-edition T-shirts, designed by local artist Sloane Leong, yet? If not, you better get on that!

Okay, here are the headlines.

• My esteemed news editor Alex Zielinski and I recently spoke with three Portlanders who were detained by federal officers in July—including one who was snatched off the street and pulled into an unmarked van the same night Mark Pettibone was. Read their stories, which are equal parts terror and clusterfuck, to get a sense of what random Portland protesters were subjected to by our federal government.

• Speaking of protests: Last night's demonstration moved east of 82nd Avenue, in front of the Portland Police Bureau's (PPB) East Precinct. As with other protests that target local police buildings, PPB was quick to declare a riot and use intense force against protesters, including both tear gas and bull-rushing:

Police bull rush, push one mom into the ground pic.twitter.com/qmC13KjTc3

— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) August 6, 2020

And here's a fun saga courtesy of PPB's Twitter page, which is seldom not occupying that sweet spot between authoritarian militance and inept parody:

The device has been safely recovered and was determined not to be explosive.

— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) August 6, 2020

A spent tear gas canister on the street in downtown Portland. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland

In a letter sent to Attorney General William Barr and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf on Thursday morning, the Oregon Democrat wrote that reports of protesters having prolonged negative effects from tear gas "raises serious questions about the federal government's sustained use of tear gas during the occupation of Portland."

"Residents of downtown Portland, including the houseless community, were exposed to these dangerous chemicals regardless of whether they took part in the protests," Wyden wrote. "This response would be disturbing under any circumstances but it is completely unacceptable in the middle of a global respiratory pandemic."

Wyden's request comes a week afterUS Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Oregon State Rep. Karin Power sent a joint letter to national and state environmental agencies, seeking information about the environmental and public health impacts tied to tear gas use.

Federal officers detaining a protester on July 25 in downtown Portland. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland

• First of all, DO NOT MISS this terrific deep dive report by the Mercury's Alex Zielinski and Blair Stenvick into the probably illegal detainment of Portland protesters who were snatched off the street by federal officers during recent protests. It's a case study in the violation of civil rights as well as some bumbling (and often hilarious) mismanagement of federal law enforcement.

We spoke with another Portlander who'd been 'snatched' by feds in an unmarked van.

His experience—and others'—further illuminates the unorganized, heavy-handed, and possibly unconstitutional tactics employed by federal police in recent weeks. https://t.co/XLVTuOsq0x
— Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) August 5, 2020

• Related: Experts that study human rights violations have found that the feds treatment of Portland protesters were "disproportionate, excessive, and indiscriminate, and deployed in ways that caused severe injury to innocent civilians, including medics,” according to their report.

• The 68th night of protests in Portland was marked by a large group marching from Peninsula Park to the police union building on North Lombard, where a riot was eventually declared after police say a group of protesters broke into the building and set a small fire. Gunfire was also reported in the area, but it's unclear whether or not it was associated with the protests. The crowd dispersed by 3:30 am.

• Yeah, another thing about last night's protest? The driver of a truck (UGH, it's always a truck) drove recklessly through a crowd of demonstrators dragging a motorcycle last night during the protest on North Lombard. However, after being questioned by the cops, the truck driver was mysteriously released and later, according to video shot on the scene, was seen waving a gun at protesters.

https://t.co/SdKngzjw28
— Blair Stenvick (@BlairStenvick) August 5, 2020

• So even though the majority of federal officers guarding the downtown courthouse have fled Portland (see ya!), the fence that surrounds the building remains and is still blocking the bike lane. And while fines imposed by the city are approaching $600,000, the feds remain unresponsive.

• In local coronavirus news, the Oregon Health Authority reported an additional 299 new positive COVID cases and five more deaths since yesterday. By this time tomorrow, Oregon will have more than 20,000 total cases statewide.

• While nothing is for certain, Oregon is considering the possibility of travel restrictions for those coming into the state from coronavirus hot spots.