Updated with more video from Stumptown Matters and photos.
The Multnomah County DA’s office has charged the leader of the Patriot Prayer group, Joey Gibson, with “riot” for initiating a riot with riotous behavior, which resulted in no riot on May 1, 2019. Got that?
The charge issued against Gibson on Thursday appears to be a shot-across-the-bow timed to do something even if it’s wrong before the planned march by conservative groups in Portland on Saturday. Either that or someone’s sniffing glue at the DA’s office again.
Gibson’s attorney, James Buchal, issued a statement about the charge, accusing the DA of rushing to get Gibson without evidence and without going to a Grand Jury:
The District Attorney claims that Mr. Gibson committed the crime of “riot” (ORS 166.015), which requires proof of “tumultuous and violent conduct” by Mr. Gibson.
James Buchal
Buchal implied that the hasty way in which the District Attorney’s office went after Gibson again demonstrated Portland’s two tiered system of justice: One for Antifa and one for everybody else:
[B]y arresting only one side of the alleged “riot,” the District Attorney of Multnomah County is by all appearances acting as a special prosecutor for Antifa.
James Buchal
Buchal chided the DA’s office saying that this charge must be the result of a “website malfunction:”
Today an alleged website malfunction at the office of the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office has revealed that the District Attorney (without waiting for his grand jury to indict), has rushed to file criminal charges against Mr. Joseph Gibson. The District Attorney claims that Mr. Gibson committed the crime of “riot” (ORS 166.015), which requires proof of “tumultuous and violent conduct” by Mr. Gibson. There are multiple videos of the events at Cider Riot, and not one of them shows Mr. Gibson engaging in violent conduct.
James Buchal
Well, I spent way too many hours on Thursday going through and transcribing Gibson’s own livestream video from May 1, 2019 and Buchal’s right. The only ‘riot’ that occurred that day was in the name of the Antifa bar at 8th and NE Couch called “Cider Riot!
The only thing that could be remotely described as ‘provocative’ was Gibson showing up to the Antifa’s hangout.
You may think that’s the dumbest idea in the world, and I get it, but there’s actually no law against walking over and talking to people hanging outside a bar. No, really. Buchal said as much in his statement when he said that the DA’s office is having a very difficult time separating what’s free speech from riot:
These charges represent a total failure of the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office to distinguish between violent conduct and the exercise of First Amendment rights.
James Buchal
Gibson was pepper sprayed repeatedly and spat on several times by masked Antifa thugs who did so on the Cider Riot! premises and onto the public sidewalk.
Buchal noted as much in his statement:
Mr. Gibson was repeatedly pepper-sprayed and spat upon by violent members of Antifa, none of whom have been arrested or charged for their conduct on May 1st. It is not as though the government is ignorant of the identity of the Antifa combatants; even now, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission refuses to release an investigative report about Cider Riot that Mr. Gibson requested long ago, which should identify other combatants.
James Buchal
Nice burqa, lady.
And after she was de-masked.
No anger-management issues to worry about with this one, yessiree.
I know it must be surprising to hear that Antifa layabouts and their confused part-time anarchist alter-egos patronize a place started by capitalists when so many of these lawless thugs do no more labor than lifting other peoples’ facile slogans while pretending to slay Nazis.
As Gibson walked up to the establishment he was met with a hail of pepper spray, spit and “get the fuck outta heres” by the, ahem, the self-described heroic ‘anti‘ Nazis.
He told them:
You guys are Nazis. You won’t even let a brown man [Gibson] exist on a public sidewalk? You guys are Nazis! You guys are the fascists. You can fucking walk anywhere you want and I will never stop you. I believe in the First Amendment, the Second Amendment.
Do something! More, more, [sound of spraying from Antifa inside the property line of Cider Riot onto the public sidewalk] more pepper spray.
Joey Gibson
Gibson walks away flashing the peace sign, demonstrating that he’s leaving. Then looks at the camera and predicts, “Shit’s about to go down.” It almost did until Gibson got Antifa to go along with his plan to stop it.
Here are my notes and some of the transcribed comments from what transpired next:
Walking away from Cider Riot he sees Antifa members or allies (same thing) threatening one of his guys and Gibson says, “Hey, do you want us to leave or not?! We will go! We will go! Do you want us to leave or not? “
As they’re leaving, Antifa apparently takes a swing at one of his guys and Antifa allies start to pounce on the pair. Gibson implores Antifa to stay away and “Let ’em fight! Let ’em fight! Let ’em fight! No! Hey walk over here and fight it’s mutual combat. That’s their right! Hey, no hey put your weapon away! Put your weapon away! Hey, hey! It’s mutual. If they want to fight let ’em fight.
The friend of Antifa says, “That’s not a law in Portland. I’m just telling you man, that’s not a law in Portland.”
Some Antifa guy who’s been watching looks at Gibson with his hands out saying something indistinguishable and Gibson responds, “Well, we’re not going to get involved!” He yells to the Anifa guy who had been involved in jumping one of his guys, “Hey!
Tells Antifa to stop.
Gibson implores his guys, “No one jump in! No one jump in! Let the men handle it! It’s mutual. It’s mutual. It’s better that two guys go down than all of us. This is the way it’s supposed to be. You don’t cheap shot people. This is the way it’s supposed to be. This is the way it’s supposed to be. Just two men fightin’!”
Then within a couple minutes the Antifa guy gives up.
Gibson declares “ok he’s out, he’s out. You quitting’ or are you in?”
The masked Antifa guy reengages.
“This is two fucking men fightin'” says Gibson says.
Gibson declares during the shadow boxing and the Antifa guy kicking the patriot prayer guy, “My face is burning right now [from pepper spray], just so everybody knows.”Says off the side to someone, “Hey back up a little bit. Back up you got the weapon. Back up.”
The PP guy backs up and trips on his feet sending him to the ground. Gibson immediately starts slapping five with the masked Antifa fighter and friends saying “Good job, good job. I like that man, I like that. Holds out a fist for fist bump with the Antifa guy. “hell yah, hell yah, we’re out. That’s what I’m talking about. Tells his guys, “let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.
Gibson talks to the camera, “Two guys fighting like men. Instead of running around and punching people behind their back. Like fucking men. Now we’re gonna leave like real men.
As they leave Antifa spoils for another fight and one of Gibson’s ‘racists’ who’s black, tries to engage but Gibson wrangles him and then berates him for touching a woman on the way back. Berating him for escalating.
Gave the other guy an atta boy for getting in the ring and says it deescalated everything. “We got a truce for the night.”
Here’s another view with the presumed “riot” at toward the end. Make sure you check out these two (pictured) toward the end. That strap-on the Antifa guy has is a lead weight while his buddy has on two sets of brass knuckles as they chased Gibson and company down the street after an Antifa member was knocked down. I’m pretty sure the Multnomah County DA’s office will overlooked any illegal weapons used by their friends in Antifa.
Sure, Gibson came to Cider Riot! to antagonize Antifa and to show their hang out. Is that against the law? Is that inciting riot? Gibson could have engaged in riot, but didn’t. Instead of engaging in “riot,” Gibson de-escalated what was a precarious situation. To Antifa’s credit, they went along but only for awhile as you see on the video directly above. Once again, Gibson de-escalated it. He didn’t commit the act of “riot.”
You may dislike Gibson’s approach. I know I have my problems with it. But Gibson’s antics flush out the modus operandi of Antifa. Every time.
As Buchal said:
These criminal proceedings are part and parcel of the dishonest campaign by Portland leaders to blame out-of-town demonstrators for violence that began and persists because Antifa wants to shut down any right-wing demonstrations in Portland. Antifa publicly asserts its insistence on shutting down these demonstrations by any means necessary, and to date, nearly all the perpetrators of Antifa violence have escaped justice.
If Mr. Gibson’s conduct on May 1st constitutes “riot,” so does the conduct of thousands of peaceful demonstrators who have appeared on the streets of Portland standing near violent Antifa members. The District Attorney’s decision to destroy constitutional protections against free speech by charging a peaceful protester with a crime of violence makes this a dark day for the rule of law in Oregon.
James Buchal
Whenever Antifa shows up there’s violence. When they don’t show up there’s none. This time Gibson and company, a multi-ethnic group of men who are constantly berated by Antifa as “racists” and “nazis,” held back his guys – and the (lily white) Antifa – while one Antifa provocateur was given his wish to fight one Patriot Prayer guy. And one of his guys pushed a woman at the end, Gibson did not engage in any violence. Indeed, armed Antifa antagonizers chased Gibson and company away.
That’s not “riot.” And that’s just something that the Multnomah County DA’s office – filled to the brim with Portland Leftists – can’t accept.
