PORTLAND, Ore. _ Shortly before 1 a.m. on July 5, as protesters braced for more long hours on the streets in Oregon's largest city, the Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front took to Twitter with a stern declaration.
"Be like water, keep moving.
If you see someone smashing windows, shut the (expletive) up.
Walk, don't run. Hold the front and back lines."
Well after protests against police have faded in many American cities, the Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front has emerged in Portland as a persistent militant voice, using social media to promote rallies, and offering tactical advice and commentary on gatherings that often have ended in confrontations with the police and arrests.
The conduct they champion has ignited a bitter debate about the direction these protests have taken in an ongoing drama that plays out nightly in front of the Multnomah County Justice Center and later in largely empty streets defined by block after block of boarded-up buildings. The core of downtown _ in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic and the demonstrations _ appears drained of much of the vitality that has long helped to define this Northwest city.
For the Youth Liberation Front's anonymous leaders, these protests are part of the revolution. They are resolutely anti-capitalist and anti-fascist, and express disdain for those who work for reform within what they view as a failing political system.
In a podcast interview last October, three of their leaders, one of whom identified himself as still in high school, said they were spurred to activism over a range of issues that included climate change, law enforcement misconduct and the rise of right-wing hate groups.
They have affiliates in Seattle and other U.S. cities, and have gained thousands of new social media followers as they launched into promoting protests over the May 25 police killing of George Floyd. Recently on social media, they have displayed a battle-hardened bravado, scornful not just of baby boomers but white millennials who they view as too often unwilling to put their bodies on the line in protests.
A June 18 tweet from the group: "We are a bunch of teenagers armed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and yerba mate _ we can take a 5 a.m. raid and be back on our feet a few hours later ... we'll be back again and again until every prison is reduced to ashes and every wall to rubble."
They are by no means the only group that has organized protests in Portland: Big gatherings that attracted tens of thousands of people, and ended peacefully, were largely put together by others.
But they have been among the most outspoken, combining organizing skills and street savvy in what has evolved into a grueling more-than-40-day marathon for protesters and law enforcement officials who often stay on duty until deep into the early morning hours.
In court filings in U.S. District Court, county officials estimate that damage costs to the Justice Center building, as well as a nearby courthouse that on July 3 had 15 more windows shattered, will exceed $284,000. There have been 140 arson fires, most in trash bins, on the streets or sidewalks. But they also included a May 29 fire inside a first-floor office of the Justice Center, a high-rise that includes a county jail.
In July, protesters have focused more attention on the federal courthouse next to the Justice Center. The U.S. attorney, in a July 6 filing, charged seven protesters with defacing the building and assaulting federal officers.
In Portland's downtown area on May 29, some protesters joined in looting stores. In the days that followed, they have broken windows in banks, restaurants and other businesses and the glass in four doors of the side entrance to the historic Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Overall, this damage exceeds $4.5 million, according to documents filed by county and city officials in U.S. court.
Statues also have been defaced with graffiti and damaged.
On July 1 protesters lit fires fueled by plywood and pallets around a downtown Portland landmark _ the Elk Fountain _ located within sight of the Justice Center where police are based. The damage forced the statue's removal.
In social media posts, Youth Liberation Front leaders portray acts of vandalism as part of the broader struggle to make big changes in America. They reject any effort _ by police or other groups _ to divide the protest movement into those who are peaceful and those who turn to violence.
"The Pigs are in a PR battle so they say there's a difference from 'peaceful' and nonviolent protesters. When in fact what we are fighting is the ultimate form of violence, making any and all resistance self and community defense," the Youth Liberation Front tweeted.
In interviews during protests, some youthful participants embraced those views.
"With real change comes a lot of collateral damage," said one young man who attended a late-night protest and declined to give his name.
