On Thursday evening, Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley slammed President Biden for his silence regarding the criminal actions of radical activists in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, tweeting, “I’m waiting for Pres Biden to condemn violence/looting/arson last two days in Oregon & Washington state.”
I’m waiting for Pres Biden to condemn violence/looting/arson last two days in Oregon & Washington state
— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) January 22, 2021
Grassley’s comment was not the only one blasting Democrats for their silence as cities were targeted by left-wing activists; Newsweek noted on Thursday:
Vocal members from the Democratic Party—including Congresswomen Cori Bush, Ayanna Pressley and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer—have not publicly condemned the vandalism to their party’s Portland headquarters. Democratic Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has also remained silent. They, among other Democrats, previously condemned far-right extremists activities, especially the riot at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6.
The Seattle Police Department reported that on Wednesday in Seattle, “individuals dressed mostly in black … lit a large American flag on fire.” They then tore down plywood window coverings and then broke several windows of a local business before one individual broke windows at the William Kenzo Nakamura Court House. Two other businesses had their windows shattered. Three suspects were arrested by Seattle police for the incidents.
On Wednesday, the Portland police arrested six people after a crowd carrying shields, umbrellas, ASP and PR-24 batons and rocks — with some in the crowd wearing gas masks and helmets — vandalized the ICE building with graffiti and threw rocks.
The Portland Police had issued public address announcements over a loudspeaker including: “This is the Portland Police Bureau. Roadways in the South Waterfront remain open to vehicular traffic. No permit has been issued for area roadways. Pedestrians and demonstrators must obey all traffic laws and remain on sidewalks. Failure to comply with this order may subject you to arrest and/or the use of crowd control agents or impact weapons.”
Portland Police did not deploy any munitions or CS gas, they said.
Prior to that, on Wednesday afternoon, eight people were arrested after a group of roughly 150 people targeted the Democratic Party of Oregon’s Portland headquarters, where they shattered windows and vandalized the building. The Wall Street Journal reported:
Photos from local media showed a crowd dressed in black marching with banners, including one with the phrase, “We are ungovernable.” A banner captured in another photo reads, “We don’t want Biden—we want revenge!” and included both anarchist and antifascist symbols. Another showed a sign that read “F— I.C.E.”
Video footage verified by Storyful shows people dressed in black, some wearing gas masks, breaking windows at the Democratic Party headquarters using batons. The walls of the building also had been tagged with anti-Biden and antipolice messages.
Grassley has not been shy about slamming Democrats before. In October 2018, he ripped then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for trying to “destroy” Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, saying:
This is the 87th day. That’s three weeks longer than the average of the last three or four nominees to the Supreme Court. So don’t tell me we haven’t spent enough time. Now, this started downhill very quickly on about July 10 when Schumer said that “we’re going to do everything we can to stop this nomination.” … But what I’ve been dealing with since July 10, the downhill slope that Schumer’s put us on, is really dealing with a demolition derby. They just about destroyed a good person …