A group affiliated with the nationwide Antifa network celebrated as news broke out of an alleged arson attack against the home of a law enforcement officer in Oregon.
On Wednesday, Nov. 11, a fire targeting a law enforcement officer's home in Washington County burned down a vehicle outside of the house. According to a spokesperson for the Washington County Sheriff's Office (WCSO), the incident is currently being investigated as a possible arson attack.
“There's concern in this case that the officer was surveilled and followed home,” said one law enforcement officer with knowledge of the ongoing investigation.
The Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front (PNW YLF), a group aligned and affiliated with radical anarcho-communist group Antifa, celebrated the arson attack.
The PNW YLF shared the story, published by Oregon Public Broadcasting, on their official Twitter account, which has over 36,000 followers, with the caption: “This is so cool.”
The PNW YLF describes itself as a “decentralized network of autonomous youth collectives dedicated to direct action towards total liberation.”
It was created by youth and student organizations in the Northwestern United States. Among their goals are the defunding of all police departments and the abolition of the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement because they are supposedly “fascist systems” that terrorize communities.
The arson attack, and the PNW YLF's possible involvement in it, are being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the WCSO and Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue. (Related: Brave Antifa warriors fight fascism by sucker punching senior citizens, women at D.C. Trump rally.)
PNW YLF may be choosing targets from a list
The sheriff's office said that the culprits may have a connection to the ongoing riots in Portland. They said that, during the summer, demonstrators and Antifa agitators would regularly photograph and film people leaving federal office buildings in downtown Portland, especially people leaving the Multnomah County Justice Center, where most of the demonstrations occurred.
In July, these groups allegedly circulated lists containing the names of federal law enforcement officers among the ranks of the demonstrators. This led to a series of vandalism incidents against certain individuals, such as against the home of Portland City Council Commissioner Dan Ryan after he voted against a proposal to defund the police. The rioters broke a window, threw burning flares and paint-filled balloons at the commissioner's house and destroyed potted plants.
Officers in the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) have reported stories of being contacted online by anonymous individuals. Some of these officers have even reported that their homes were vandalized. This forced the PPB to allow their officers to cover their names on their uniforms with tape.
“There were officers who had concerns that their personal information would be shared,” said PPB Lt. Greg Pashley, “and that somehow their personal lives would be impacted negatively either by threats or intimidation or criminal activity.”
Twitter said the celebration of arson attack is acceptable on their platform
Fox News attempted to report the PNW YLF for gloating about the arson attack. When Twitter was finally able to respond, they said that the tweet can remain on their platform.
Elizabeth Busby, a person working for Twitter's communications office, said that the tweet did not violate any of the site's rules. She then redirected Fox to their policies regarding safety and other issues.
The media outlet responded by pointing out that Twitter explicitly prohibits the glorification of violence, warning that doing so could “inspire others to take part in similar acts of violence.”
The policy reads: “We define glorification to include praising, celebrating or condoning statements, such as ‘I'm glad this happened,’ ‘This person is my hero,’ ‘I wish more people did things like this’ or ‘I hope this inspires others to act.’
It should be clear that the policy covers the PNW YLF's tweet that celebrated the arson attack against the police officer's home, and yet Twitter has decided that it will take no action to prevent such brazen displays of glorifying violence.
Learn more about Antifa's latest criminal actions in Oregon and other parts of the country by reading the articles at AntifaWatch.news.
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