“My own definition, which is about the same as the statutory definition, is the use of violence or threats of violence in an attempt to disrupt democratic processes. So an attack on a courthouse, while in operation, trying to prevent judges from actually deciding cases, that plainly is domestic extremism, domestic terrorism,” Garland told the Senate through a confirmation hearing on Monday.
“An attack simply on a government property at night, or any other kind of circumstances, is a clear crime and a serious one, and should be punished. I don’t know enough about the facts of the example you’re talking about. But that’s where I draw the line. One is—both are criminal, but one is a core attack on our democratic institutions,” he continued.
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Portland’s U.S. Courthouse in the summer of 2020 was repeatedly attacked by rebels, some linked to the Antifa network and Black Lives Matter, urging the federal government to send officers to guard it.
Federal code defines domestic terrorism as: “activities that— (A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State; (B) appear to be intended— (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and (C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.”
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Federal officials have not explained what happened in Portland was domestic terrorism, though they spoke out strongly about what happened.
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“For more than 60 days, violent criminals, opportunists, and anarchists have attacked the federal seat of justice in Portland, Oregon: the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse. For more than 60 days, criminals violently attacked federal law enforcement officers who carried out their statutory mission,” then-acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told Congress in August 2020.
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Although, only last Friday, Antifa activists shattered windows and hurled snowballs at police officers after gathering downtown.
About 30 to 50 people gathered at Director Park around 8 p.m. before moving to the Portland Police Bureau’s Central Precinct, the bureau announced in an incident summary. After arriving, the group started throwing objects and yelling at officers.
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When police went outside to move their cars to prevent them from being destroyed, “the officers were pelted with icy snowballs by participants,” the bureau stated.
According to reports, the crowd consisted, at least in part, of members of the far-left, anarcho-communist Antifa network. The network is vehemently against the police, frequently demanding the abolishment of police departments and prisons. The crowd was recorded shouting at the officers as they retreated back inside the building.
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