Ted Wheeler, Mayor of Portland, Oregon, voiced his support to city police who had been widely criticized for insufficient response to Antifa violence in the city last week.
"I was appalled by what I saw in that clip and I support the decisions of the Portland Police. I trust them," Ted Wheeler tweeted, referring to a brawl that broke out between Antifa protesters and right-wing demonstrators in downtown Portland last week.
On Monday, he also proposed new restrictions on protests if the protesters had a history of violence, drawing criticism that such measures would allow him to regulate speech and assembly.
The mayor's turning a blind eye on reported Antifa violence and supporting passive police response has drawn public condemnation, with people claiming that they were fearing for their safety.
The mayor's comments came two days after protests flared up in Portland following the death of Patrick Kimmons, a 27-year-old black man who was ostensibly involved in a shooting that left two men wounded and was later gunned down by local police.
According to Fox News and Andy C. Ngo, a Portland-based writer and reporter who filmed the events in Portland streets, leftist protesters have verbally harassed passersby, including a senior citizen, with other demonstrators attempting to direct traffic, while cops on motorcycles were watching from a block away. There have been no reported arrests after the protests yet.
Ngo has uploaded a series of videos showing a violent altercation unfold between Antifa activists and counter-protesters from the right.
In one clip, two mobs can be seen engaging in an across-the-street verbal altercation. A group of masked people chants, "Black lives matter," a slogan condemning violence towards black people, while members of the Patriot Prayer group shouted "USA," waving American flags.
According to Ngo, the protests were caught in an upward spiral of violence after a purported Antifa activist sprayed mace on members of a right-wing group, despite the left-wing protesters' previous statement that they had come there "for justice."