Recall this scene: At the height of the George Floyd protests, an angry mob of Black Lives Matter protesters burst into the federal courthouse in Portland, aiming to stop a criminal trial they felt was rigged against the just outcome. The crowd was armed mostly with crude implements such as flagpoles and helmets, but they were aggressive and inflamed, and they overwhelmed the outnumbered marshals. A small core of the protesters were basically professional agitators, hardened in street combat, but most were ordinary citizens at the end of their tether, fueled by a stew of righteous anger and ignorant paranoia.
It was an intense moment. On video, one protester can be heard screaming “F*** the blue!” A white federal officer was pointing his gun in a warning stance. One protester yelled, “There’s a gun! There’s a gun!” As they burst through a door inside the courthouse, the officer fired, killing an unarmed black woman. He gave no verbal warning before opening fire.
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