Course of Action: Smaller but More Violent?

A Portland, Oregon-based Antifa blog claimed credit for a series of destructive attacks and cases of vandalism in 2024. This is the kind of activity referred to as “direct action.” The argument is that protests don’t really work, so more direct forms of action have to be taken, and what you get is predominantly arson and vandalism.

I’ll take you through the three most prolific attacks in 2024.

The first is the May Day arson attack against Portland police vehicles. A group calling itself Rachel Corrie’s Ghost Brigade, which is a pro-Palestine group, claimed responsibility for the burning of 17 Portland Police vehicles that were parked in the department parking lot. Rachel Corrie was an American citizen who was killed, some would say murdered in 2003, when an Israeli bulldozer drove over and crushed her while she was protesting in Gaza. The militants allegedly cut through the fence at the Portland Police training facility and initially set 10 vehicles on fire, which eventually spread to 17. The group said the attack was in response for Palestinian martyrs, but also for black and indigenous rebels murdered by slave owners and American settlers.

The second major attack was what’s described as an improvised explosive device that was apparently tossed at a Beaverton, Oregon police vehicle as it was driving down the road. The IED was reportedly an energy drink aluminum can that was packed with some sort of explosives. The officer in that vehicle sustained non-life threatening injuries when the IED exploded and blew out the window of his patrol car.

* In the third case, Antifa militants claimed they set fire to a Portland and Western Railroad bridge trestle. What’s odd about this case is that police did arrest three juveniles who were charged with reckless burning. Authorities said that the boys were smoking and threw away a lit cigarette that ended up lighting a fire, burning eight acres and also destroying the wooden train trestle. So this may have actually been a case of… you know, they say that one boy has one brain, two boys have half a brain, and three boys have no brain. That’s at least what our drill sergeants told us, so maybe a case of that. But Portland Antifa took credit for it, anyway. I’m pretty doubtful on that.

And then finally, Far Left militants set fire to three ballot drop boxes and destroyed reportedly hundreds of voting ballots on or about 28 October. You probably remember media outlets and some partisan political pundits try to blame Trump supporters for this, but a Portland-area Antifa group actually claimed credit for it. Maybe that’s true.

Portland remains the epicenter of Far Left activity across the country. This is the norm in Portland, although we have seen arson attacks take place on the East Coast, particularly in Georgia, North Carolina, and I believe Pennsylvania.

Looking towards the future, this could become common in some other cities as resistance to the Trump administration grows. So far, we haven’t seen any real semblance of a mass mobilization protest. Sure, there have been lots of protests but they’ve been pretty lackluster so far. Nothing like we saw in 2017, much less 2020. And so if you’re a Far Left militant, and it’s difficult to carry out a black bloc action due to lack of mass protests, then one option could be arson against police vehicles. I would note that law enforcement trailed and broke up a few recent instances of black blocs in Portland and Seattle. Protesters were notably absent.

One thing I noticed in many of these missives taking credit for the attacks in Portland, is that there’s a strong sense of encouraging further attacks. And it’s slightly reminiscent of the Islamic State’s concept of “propaganda by deed.” Sure, these groups can push Far Left memes and zines and incendiary rhetoric online, but the best propaganda value is in showing that insurrectionary violence, such as lighting a vehicle on fire, is not only fun, but can also be relatively safe. For instance, no arrests were made in any of these deliberate arson attacks.

What happens is that these arsonists will light a small fire, usually on the rear tire closest to the vehicle's gas tank. They light the fire, usually consisting of a firestarter briquette and some kind of accelerant like lighter fluid, and run away. But the small fire burns and catches the tire on fire. And so the arsonists are long gone before anyone can see or react to what’s happening. It’s very difficult to put out a fire that’s already burning rubber, and then it’s not too long before the whole vehicle is engulfed.

So this is one course of action that I think folks should be paying attention to as we move further into 2025. Absent protests that give cover to riot, arson could become a more popular tactic.