During the street melee in Portland as the May Day protests were winding down, a student filmmaker was evidently assaulted and has his camera broken by the masked antifa mob. After an antifa member broke the lens on his camera, Oregon State University student Noah Bucchi followed the perpetrator back into the bar where antifa were holding their concert.
The bouncer wouldn’t let him in, and Bucchi says a group of the violent thugs started punching him, eventually holding him down on the ground while they poured beer on him.
An Oregon State University student said Antifascists broke his camera lens, and physically attacked him outside a northeast Portland bar Wednesday night.
Noah Bucchi, who is studying communications at OSU, said he was at Cider Riot when members of these opposing groups began to clash. But, according to him, he is not affiliated with either.
He claims he was at the bar filming a documentary on the long-standing feud between Antifa and Patriot Prayer.
“Basically, just that dichotomy between the two,” Bucchi said. “Both groups are kind of looking for violence. It’s like a love-hate [relationship].”
The video he shot for his school project shows patriot prayer leader Joey Gibson arrives at the bar. Moments later, things get heated.
“At one point a guy comes up and demasks one of the Antifa members,” Bucchi said. “That pisses that guy off. So, he spits in the face of Joey.”
Bucchi claims, despite the commotion, he kept filming, interviewing members of Patriot Prayer. Then he looks for interview subjects along the Antifa side.
“They were very antagonistic toward me because they had seen me with Patriot Prayer,” Bucchi said.
He told FOX 12, he has never been affiliated with either group. Bucchi said the interaction became physical, with members of Antifa pushing up against him.
“A guy comes from my right. Hits my camera with a club.”
Bucchi told FOX 12, the man broke his camera lens valued at $100. He believes it was a member of Antifa and the attack was intentional.
According to him, the attacker then ran into the bar, so Bucchi followed him.
“They stop me at the door. Both the owner and multiple Antifa members,” he said.
Cider riot’s owner, Abram Goldman-Armstrong, confirmed to FOX 12, he did stop Bucchi from entering the business.
“He was like, I need to go look for that guy inside. I was like, no man, you need to cool down,” according to Goldman-Armstrong.
According to him, he was just trying to keep the peace. The bar owner said police were nowhere to be found, despite one of his employees reporting the brawl when it began.
Goldman-Armstrong said he jotted down Bucchi’s information and agreed to call him if he found the person responsible for breaking his camera gear.
While waiting outside the bar, Bucchi said “I got punched here on my jaw. I was kind of down and I got punched multiple times.”
Bucchi, whose chin is still bruised, says he hit back, landing one punch.
“As soon as I punched him, five people grabbed me, pulled me to the ground,” he said.
According to him, they held him down as his attacker returned to pour beer on him.
“One guy had his arm around my neck saying he was going to choke me out,” Bucchi said. “All I was thinking was, I just want to stay awake.”
Once he stopped struggling, Bucchi claimed the group dragged him to the curb. He later left on a tram.
Street journalist Andy Ngo was also assaulted, and he has posted the video report of Bucchi’s incident on his twitter.
I hope this is a mistake rather than something more nefarious. @PortlandPolice said yesterday no reports of assault filed relating to #antifa May Day riot. Myself & another person have come forward disputing this. Link to full report by @BrennaKellyNews: https://t.co/EKccEseGfi pic.twitter.com/2mLdEa2mZJ
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) May 3, 2019
In another article, KPTV reports:
At another point, Ngo told FOX 12 he was punched in the stomach.
He says he tried to tell an officer in that moment.
“And he informed me that they wouldn’t do anything right now because that would be ‘escalation,’” Ngo said.
Ngo said he called police around 11 p.m. Wednesday night, and they came to take a report.
Yet, Portland Police issued an update 12 hours later that said no victims of assault had made reports and asked people who believe they are victims to come forward.
“I don’t know how loud I have to scream before someone listens,” Ngo said.
And what can Bucchi look forward to? His attackers will likely never be identified or charged. Now that his name is out there and he’s not a communist, enraged leftists will likely go on a bullying spree, doxing him, harassing him, posting flyers all over the OSU campus with his face on them calling him a white supremacist neo nazi, staging protests demanding he be expelled from the university… He gave his personal information to someone at the bar, who could very distribute that information. Maybe they’ll even light his car on fire.
And what of the Portland “police?” It appears as though their PR department is working overtime. Despite these two victims coming forward, as of 11:57 AM on May 2nd, the police bureau is claiming that no one has come forward to identify as a victim:
The Portland Police Bureau continues to follow up on the disturbance from May 1st, 2019, near Northeast 8th Avenue and Northeast Couch Street. At this time, no victims of assault have made reports to the police. The Police Bureau is asking persons who believe they were victims of crimes which require investigation to contact the non emergency number at (503) 823-3333 to report those crimes.
Portland police bureau’s polished political statement also explains that they didn’t have enough officers to respond to the brawl:
As officers were waiting for cover, updates continued to come in with reports of people throwing sticks, rocks, glass, and the deployment of pepper spray. Bats were also reported to be in the crowd and members of the crowd were reported to be in “riot gear.”
Supervisors called for additional units city-wide to respond to this tumultuous scene. A hasty team was created in the event of an immediate life safety incident where the officers were prepared to go in and save someone if their life was in imminent danger. Officers continued to monitor and receive updates while they waited for appropriate resources to respond. They observed that both groups had opportunities to disengage and leave, but appeared to be actively engaging in the violent behavior against each other.
It is important for the public to understand that it takes time for police response to spontaneous fights between groups of individuals who are armed and actively engaging in violence. Additionally, officers are trained to use sound tactics and utilize appropriate resources to engage in violent crowd situations for the safety of themselves and the public. It is different if there is an event that is planned and on-going and police are nearby and can insert themselves quickly to quell a disturbance.
When resources have to respond from across the city, it takes time and it also delays emergency response to other calls for service. Additionally, there is a time delay from the time a call taker speaks to callers on the phone at the dispatch center, the call taker transfers the information to a dispatcher, the dispatcher relays the information to the officer, and then the officer responds.
The KPTV video report includes audio from the police communications, where officers were saying they only had eight officers who could respond. This comes at a time when the smart officers are retiring or transferring to other law enforcement agencies, and portland police are struggling to find enough qualified applicants to fill the vacant positions. There aren’t enough police to respond when you are in trouble, perps will never be identified or charged, but you’ll be the one arrested and charged if you have to take matters into your own hands.
Welcome to poortland (intentionally poor, intentionally lower case).
Raw video of the entire covfefe, courtesy of Stumptown Matters on YouTube:
(6:05 mark is where the Bucchi’s camera is broken, but it’s out of frame)
