The family whose imminent eviction inspired Portland protesters to create a new armed “autonomous zone” turns out to be living in another home they own nearby. Could there be a better sign of the hollowness of the moral pretenses of these anarchists?
Yet the “zone” loons still got their way.
Portland’s radicals only whetted their appetites in months of rioting by the federal courthouse.
In September, they jumped when a judge ordered the Kinneys, a Black and Native American family, evicted from their home after a years-long court battle.
PORTLAND ‘RED HOUSE’ FAMILY IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH CITY; BLOCKADES TO COME DOWN AT OCCUPATION PROTEST
They’d taken out a mortgage to pay legal bills after the son, who goes by William X. Nietzche, was arrested in 2002 for a hit-and-run; they were foreclosed on in 2018, owing a year and a half of payments totaling $112,338.
Nietzche represented the family in court, with filings containing anti-government babble arguing he’s a sovereign citizen not subject to U.S. law and criminal complaints against officers of the court.
Protesters have been camping out near the “red house” since September, with signs like “Eat the rich,” but escalated last week, using barricades to create a three-block autonomous area, with booby traps set for police.
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“It looks like a war zone,” one neighbor said, noting protesters were playing music until 5 a.m. They refused to let police enter and, after violent clashes with cops, kept an armed sentry at the entrance. They also insisted no one take pictures or video, even assaulting a KATU TV journalist.
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And for what? The family’s not homeless but living just two miles away at their house with a $600,000 market value. And the developer who bought the “red house” at foreclosure in 2018 offered to sell it back to the family at cost, $260,000 plus $20,000 in taxes and fees he’s paid.
A GoFundMe campaign raised more than $308,000 for the family, but they won’t say they’ll use the money to buy back the house.
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And the radicals wouldn’t start taking down their barricades until wimpy Mayor Ted Wheeler caved to some of their demands, including an apology for his tweet telling police to “use all lawful means to end the illegal occupation.”
It’s another win for the radical wackos and another loss for law and order.