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For the first time in months, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency building here was not besieged Wednesday night by Antifa creeps, who have clearly been scared off by the Trump administration’s increased presence on the ground.
It’s a funny thing, just as in President Trump’s crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., once there are consequences for breaking the law, things get awfully quiet.
It was obvious as I approached the facility just before nightfall that something had changed. Gone for the most part was the menacing gang of masked Antifa with their sticks and flagpoles that I had seen prowling the previous night.
DAVID MARCUS: MY RUN-IN SHOWS THAT IN PORTLAND, IT’S THE COPS WHO ARE HANDCUFFED
In the place of the black-clad helmeted ne’er-do-wells were about six disabled protesters, some in wheelchairs, one a blind man, who were clearly put there to make Trump’s deployment of ICE officers and the National Guard seem ridiculous and unneeded.
Two or three Antifa thugs in their masks and helmets lingered, but on the periphery, no longer the hunters, they had become the hunted.
That wasn’t the only change from the night before. On the roof of the facility could be seen several armed ICE officers as well as an American flag that had not been there the night before. Some observers thought the flag flew at half staff for Charlie Kirk, but you can judge for yourself by the picture.
It didn’t take long. As Fox News’ Bill Melugin reported from inside the ICE facility, an Antifa member who had previously been identified committing criminal acts was recognized by agents, dragged in, and could be seen shaking in fear, under federal arrest.
The message was clear: There is a new sheriff in town, and Antifa’s antics will be punished.
Just as when President Donald Trump federalized the police force in Washington DC in early September, to howls of fascism and authoritarianism, the change for the better when laws are actually enforced turned out to be immediate in Portland.
One under-reported aspect of this story is that the ICE facility sits on the outskirts of a very high-end neighborhood of steel and glass high-rise apartment buildings. It is cut off from downtown by highways and there is almost no homelessness or vagrancy there.
Over the past several weeks, when we saw locals complain about Antifa’s late night noise, these were wealthy residents who pay good money for their stylish pad with a nice view and several nice stores that offer organic wine.
If these residents were upset at all over the increased federal force at the nearby facility, I couldn’t tell as they walked their well-groomed dogs and sipped craft beer in their upscale environs.
Nobody in this tony little Pacific Northwest neck of the city would talk to me about Antifa. Perhaps my Fox News Digital vest didn’t help, but their actions spoke louder than words as they clearly enjoyed having all of their neighborhood back.
And none of them were protesting Trump’s actions. At all.
What the Trump administration understands, as legendary New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani did back in the 1990s, is that if you are going to combat crime and disorder, you have to do it fast, not with long-term plans but with immediate, strong action.
Trump also knows that the proof of policing is in the pudding. Portlanders may not like the methods, and hell may freeze over before they give the president credit for bringing back order. But it won’t stop them from enjoying it.
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As I have written here before, the motto of the Trump administration seems to be “you can just do things,” and on Wednesday night it did.
Make no mistake, Antifa in Portland is in retreat. Downtown late Wednesday night, I saw some of them roaming, not willing to be at the ICE facility any longer. They were helpless to do anything but waive their flags.
Soon, those flags may be white, as this domestic terror organization, not just in Portland, but across America, will be treated and prosecuted for the threat they are.
What a difference a day makes. On Tuesday, I watched as helpless police allowed a woman to be assaulted because, I was told, their higher-ups didn’t want them to engaging. By Wednesday, that cowardice was out the window, and laws were enforced.
First Washington, D.C., now Portland and perhaps Memphis next. Love him or hate him, President Trump is making good on his promise to fight the scourge of crime and political violence in America.
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