A GoFundMe page is raising money to help a Portland Antifa member who took part in a violent May Day riot last year stay out of jail.
Phoebe Anne Loomis, 38, pleaded no contest to first-degree criminal mischief for her role in destroying a downtown Starbucks at an organized Antifa riot on May 1, 2021. Loomis was with a group of up to 100 Antifa members who gathered with riot gear and shields at a downtown park before launching an attack on city hall and nearby businesses.
“More individuals continued to break windows of businesses,” Portland Police said at the time. “Several members of the crowd used umbrellas in an attempt to block police from viewing criminal acts.”
Loomis was arrested in full riot gear that included a gas mask, a black helmet, and fiberglass-enforced gloves. Loomis, who has an Antifa tattoo on her chest and was in a “black bloc” uniform popular with Antifa, was carrying bear mace and a steel tool, according to police.
That night, a separate faction of leftist rioters also attacked the local Immigration and Customs Enforcement building. One rioter who brandished a knife at police was arrested along with several others who were all quickly released without bail or had their bail paid by far-left groups.
(GoFundMe)
Loomis was indicted a year ago on multiple felony charges including rioting and criminal mischief. But Multnomah County prosecutors, under left-wing District Attorney Mike Schmidt, gave her a plea deal dismissing all charges except criminal mischief, which was reduced to a misdemeanor. What’s more, the case will be dismissed if she pays Starbucks, whose store she vandalized, $3,610.75 in restitution.
However, over a year later, it appears she has not paid the restitution. Last week, Antifa accounts began circulating a GoFundMe fundraiser on social media for Loomis titled, “Phoenix stay free.” “Phoenix” is the moniker Loomis uses in Antifa.
“Our comrade Phoenix is being unjustly persecuted for exercising their right to protest,” reads the campaign. “The State is demanding they hand over thousands of dollars in restitution to the Starbucks Corporation for the crime of being vaguely in the area when one of the corporation’s stores was damaged.” Phoebe Anne Loomis, a member of Portland Antifa, was part of a riot last year that damaged several downtown buildings.
The campaign is run by a pseudonymous user named “Declan Hood” and does not disclose that Loomis took a plea deal and will be convicted. The campaign appears to run afoul of GoFundMe’s prohibition of raising money for the legal defense of those accused of violent crimes, the policy the platform cited last year in removing fundraisers for Kyle Rittenhouse.
Phoebe Loomis pleaded guilty for her role in another Antifa riot in May 2017, but the case was later dismissed. (Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office)
GoFundMe did not respond to a request for comment.
Starbucks cafes in Portland were routinely smashed up or targeted in arson attacks by Antifa at riots in 2020 and 2021. In July, Starbucks announced it was closing two Portland locations due to safety concerns.
The 2021 riot was not the first for Loomis. At another violent Antifa May Day riot in 2017, Loomis was among 25 arrested. Rioters had hurled rocks at police, tried to kill or injure officers using incendiary devices and were indiscriminately smashing up businesses and vehicles. Loomis pleaded guilty to second-degree disorderly conduct but the case was dismissed two months later by a judge.