Journalist Zaid Jilani on Tuesday said the violence in Portland, Ore., over the weekend between far-right and far-left protesters is just one of the latest in a series of clashes that are becoming part of the city’s “social fabric.”
In an interview on Hill.TV’s “Rising,” the journalist said that “both sides kind of say they’re protecting the city from each other, but they’re only really interested in fighting each other.”
“This has become almost a feature of Portland’s social fabric… to have people, far left and far right people, kind of battling each other in kind of low grade violence,” he added.
Jilani also reflected on some criticism against Portland police officers for their hands-off approach to the clashes, saying, “I don’t know that the police themselves feel super motivated to go and police fights between people who hate them.”
Police did respond to an incident Sunday in which shots were fired amid an outbreak of violence between the extremist groups, with authorities later charging a 65-year-old with unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon.
No one was injured during the shooting, according to police.
Watch part of Jilani’s interview above.
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