A disturbing incident in Portland, Ore. shows that destructive mob violence there is not necessarily random or spontaneous – a restaurant known for supporting the police was threatened and subsequently had its windows shot out a few days later.
Heroes American Café had been warned via a phone call that “something” would be happening to it. Owner John Jackson told The Oregonianthat someone called the burger joint on Oct. 8 to say it was on a list of pro-police businesses and that they should expect something to happen.
“We kind of dismissed it as whatever,” recalled Jackson, 55.
On the 11th, however, someone shot out two of the restaurant’s windows and smashed a third with some other weapon, according to the report.
The vandalism occurred on the same day as a demonstration that had been called a “day of rage” in fliers distributed around the city. Portland has been racked by violent, destructive “protests” since the widely reported-on death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May.
“It looked like a planned thing because they called us on Thursday and threatened us,” Jackson told The Oregonian.
Jackson, who is black, described his restaurant’s public stance: “We are pro heroes, any hero — whether it’s a teacher, a firefighter, a police officer or a vet,” Jackson told the newspaper. “We’ve very American in nature. I served in the military. We’re red, white and blue. Whatever side you’re on, you have a right to believe what you believe, but you don’t have a right to step on whatever you disagree with. We kind of felt like we’re neutral,” he explained.
