SOURCE: MULTNOMAH COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
It’s been a common sight over last six months: activists in downtown Portland streets protesting—usually against Donald Trump or the Portland Police Bureau (PPB)—before armored squads of officers swoop in and make arrests on misdemeanor charges.
You saw this in November, after Trump was elected. You also saw it on Inauguration Day, on President’s Day, and after the Portland officer who killed 17-year-old Quanice Hayes was cleared by a grand jury several weeks ago.
But here’s what’s less visible once the tumult has subsided: Misdemeanor charges against protesters rarely stick.