Mike Strickland goes on trial for his freedom this morning for unholstering his legal, licensed and concealed handgun at protesters who had already assaulted him and were rushing him to do more harm.
The trial before Judge Thomas Ryan will be in room 406 starting at 8:30. Katharine “Kate” Molina is the deputy district attorney prosecuting him.
As I explained in my last post about this case, Strickland covered protests for years and watched how the leftists had grown even more violent.
Citizen journalists, live streamers and traditional journalists received this missive from protesters during the November riots:
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The message included:
DON’T SNITCH EVER.
CONSIDER THIS A WARNING
The message was, if you cover this event you’ll be hurt.
Four months before this overt threat was sent to the media by protesters, Strickland had already arrested, jailed and awaiting trial for pulling his gun to hold back-out-of-control anarchists converging on him.
But Strickland already had a healthy respect for the violent nature of some of the people.
Watch what happened to him in November of 2012 at a post-Occupy Portland event. You’ll recognize many of the same faces from Occupy and present day protests, as he noted on his news platform “Laughing at Liberals”:
Occupy Portland holds their N3 rally and march against “austerity”. At the end of the march, several protestors gather near cameraman and berate him, yell at him through a megaphone, then, finally, shove him through the circle of people who had surrounded him. This was all triggered by one of them shouting “snitches get stitches” at the cameraman.
Several of the people who took part in this escapade are regulars in other videos and media. Jesse Sponberg, Mario Javier David Haro (Mario Haro), Ibrahim Mubarak, and Richie Hernandez. Also present are International Workers of the World members and other union members.
They encircled Strickland, pushed and threatened him. Note their use of the word ‘snitch’:
Occupy Portland Threatens, Berates, Shoves Cameraman
You may want to watch this twice. First without paying attention to the annotations, then again with them, so you can watch the other videos that these folks…
And things have just gotten worse.
Last October, one of the anarchists who is a “victim” in the Strickland case, helped take over City Hall. Ben Kerensa is in the first seconds of this video. He’s the large man on the left:
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Portland Police Bureau cops eventually threw out the protesters which was a rare show of force by them:
Portland police push, pepper spray protesters out of city hall
Portland police push protesters out of city hall when an unruly protest ensues after the city council approves police contract. Read more about the protest a…
As you’ll see in the video above, a television news photographer was roughed up and two cops went down in the fray.
KOIN-TV reports that several people were arrested.
And look, “victim” in the Strickland case, Ben Kerensa, was among those arrested…again:
After the initial clash, protesters moved into the street and blocked traffic, including MAX and TriMet buses, but police were called to clear the street.
Some protesters defied police orders and 10 were arrested after the police cleared the street. Three were booked into the Multnomah County jail while the others were cited and released Wednesday.
Jonny Perez, 23, booked for assaulting a public safety officer, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and interfering with emergency response
Robert Lee West, 51, booked for coercion, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct
Sarabeth Rachel Long, 38, booked for coercion, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct
David Kif Davis, 44, cited for disorderly conduct and interfering with a public safety officer
Hallie Bernhof, 20, cited for disorderly conduct and criminal trespass
Carlton Smith, 43, cited for disorderly conduct
Henrick De-Savy, 21, cited for resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and interfering with a public safety officer
James Mattox, 27, cited for disorderly conduct and interfering with a public safety officer
Frank Martinez Jr., 24, cited for resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and interring with a public safety officer
Benjamin Kerensa, 32, cited for theft
In November, again after Strickland was awaiting his felony trial to start and had already been stripped of his method of making a living, the protesters showed their true colors again.
Protesters again went berserk and rioted through the streets of Portland. A protester was shot by a fellow protester.
The Oregon GOP accused City Hall of “dereliction of duty” by failing to enforce the law and, in so doing, endanger Portlanders. They demanded the resignation of outgoing mayor Charlie Hales for letting violent protesters take over the streets.
Residents took matters into their own hands. This woman, whose car was being blocked by protesters, got out and used the only weapon she had available–laundry detergent–to get a black bloc anarchist out of her way.
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Police had a hands-off approach–just as they had during the July protest in which Strickland had been assaulted and converged on by the usual anarchist suspects.
Among other assaults he was hit with the black bloc flag pols as this frequent Portland protester and anarchist demonstrates:
And it was at this point that local television station, KGW-TV, declared it had had enough.
After their TV cameraman was injured, KGW-TV made an announcement on its Facebook page that it would cover protests at a distance from now on:
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The post said:
After protests turned violent the last several nights, including vandalism and one person getting shot, KGW is taking a new approach to covering violent protests. Our journalists and others in the media have been injured and gassed covering these protests.
We don’t want our people or anyone else to get injured in these riots. That’s why we’ve decided to cover violent confrontations from a safe distance. We will also think long and hard about what we put on air and online.
We also are committed to including you in our reporting process. How do you think we should cover protests? Does media coverage encourage violent people in the crowds? Let us know in the comments.
Portland Police confirmed the attack:
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Some protesters attacked a film crew. Bottles being thrown at police. Distractionary “bang” devices being used to effect arrests.
And, at that point, another guy who covers the protests, Mike Bivins, admitted that he’d been threatened too:
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Now that you’re finally learning what Strickland had known for all these years about the violent tendencies of the protesters, you’re probably thinking ‘why cover them at all?’
Nobody asked the traditional news media that question, so why would Strickland cease covering the protests?
It’s his right to cover them. He also had a right to protect himself from them for which he now faces more than 50 years in prison.
Stay here for trial updates.
Previous posts:
Violent Protesters Show EXACTLY Why Strickland Carried Gun to Cover Protests
‘He Makes Fun of Us:’Reason Why Anarchists Conspired to Attack Strickland at Portland Protest
Bomb Threats, Activism, Anarchy: ‘Victim’ in Strickland Gun Case Is a Convicted Liar
Witness Against Strickland In Gun Case Is Federal Felon; Anarchist
Strickland Hearing Today & the Defense Has a Surprise for the DA
Strickland Indicted on Gun Charges; Ham Sandwich Next In Line
Watch This Guy Advance on Mike Strickland Right Before He Pulled Gun At BLM Protest
Strickland’s Gun Case Similar to Portland Case That Just Ended In Not-Guilty Verdict
The Exoneration of Portland Citizen Journalist Mike Strickland, ‘Laughing at Liberals.’
Citizen Journalist James O’Keefe Spotlights Mike Strickland Case
Here’s What 4 Cops & a 2-A Activist Saw When They Watched ‘Man Pulls Gun on PDX Protesters’ Video
