Posted on November 27, 2020

Three Arrested After Portland War Memorial to Veterans Is Vandalized With ‘F**K USA’

Erica Davies and Fionnuala O'Leary, The Sun, November 26, 2020

THREE people were arrested after “f**k USA” was scrawled on a Portland veterans memorial during the Thanksgiving protests.

Several arrests were made in the early hours of Thursday morning after the monument was vandalized with red spray paint and its mounted statue was toppled in Portland‘s Lone Fir Cemetery.

Cops in the Oregon city said they arrested Chester Hester, 24, Nicole Noriega, 38, and 23-year-old Bailey Willack.

The alleged culprits are being held at Multnomah County Jail and facing 10 counts of first-degree criminal mischief each – but one of them was carrying a semi-automatic pistol and may be facing weapons charges.

A teenager was also detained regarding alleged property damage, reported KATU, and cops believe others were involved in the incident.

Law enforcement received reports at around 1.20am yesterday of a group dressed in black smashing windows and spray-painting graffiti Southeast Portland.

They arrested three people who were “carrying evidence connecting them to the vandalism,” the station stated.

Members of the anti-facist group called on their Facebook followers to target symbols of colonialism, capitalism, and gentrification.

Protests erupted after their incendiary call to action, which stated: “f**k thanksgiving” and “organize your own direct action.”

The memorial they targeted was unveiled in 1903 to honor the soldiers of the Civil, Spanish-American, Mexican, and Indian wars, according to the cemetery’s website.

Photos showed the toppled statue on top of the memorial covered in red paint as it lay on the ground.

Nearly all of the bank’s windows were riddled with gaping holes surrounded by cracked glass.

Several spray-painted phrases related to the genocide of Indigenous and Native Americans as well as anti-Thanksgiving sentiments were scrawled on the walls of the financial institution.

“F**k you colonizer,” “Pequot massacre,” “F**k Thanksgiving,” and “F**k capitalism” were some of the choice phrases used by the mystery vandals.

At least 10 businesses including grocery stores, an auto service center, a mailing center and other local storefronts were damaged on Wednesday night after a group tagged them all with graffiti, KGW8 reported.

Officers raced to the scene after 1am after receiving calls about a group of people dressed in black were walking down Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard and breaking windows.

Cops found a group that matched callers’ description and said that members of the group were carrying “evidence” that connected them to the vandalism incidents.

One of the group members was toting a semi-automatic pistol, police said.

The vandalism took place hours after protesters and police clashed outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in south Portland on Tuesday night.

Locals feared more violence on Thursday after members of the Antifa movement demanded that Americans to disavow the Thanksgiving tradition.

Members of the anti-fascist protest movement said they were “tired of seeing white people celebrate the genocide of our ancestors” before riots ensued.