(Ken Silva, Headline USA) In the early hours of last Thursday, at least 15 Portland police patrol vehicles were torched in an act of arson.
“At 1:55 a.m., Portland Police North Precinct was dispatched to assist Portland Fire & Rescue at the Portland Police Training Division, located in the 14900 block of Northeast Airport Way,” Portland Police said in a press release Thursday.
“When they arrived they found at least 15 vehicles in a fenced training area were burning. Firefighters extinguished the fires. The building was undamaged, and no injuries were reported.”
Now, a group calling itself “Rachel Corrie’s Ghost Brigade”—named after a pro-Palestine activist—is claiming credit for the attack in what appears to be left-wing terrorism related to the anti-Israel protests.
The group released a message on the website of “Rose City Counter-Info,” which claims to serve as a platform for submissions of any communiques, reports, zines, analyses, announcements, calls to action, art and musings relevant to anarchists and radicals in “Portland” and the greater Portland area.
The message also appeared on “Abolition Media,” which bills itself as an “online news source for revolutionary movements.”
🚨 Breaking: Big Encampment Escalation
An anonymous group calling itself “Rachel Corrie’s Ghost Brigade” claimed responsibility for the May 1st burning of 15 Portland Police Department cars, calling it a "preemptive attack" to prevent them from dismantling the encampment at… pic.twitter.com/WzTfnYcCSh
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) May 6, 2024
“On May Day we torched some PPB cars at their training facility. We cut through a fence, set ten fires and are happy it grew to burn fifteen cars!” the group said.
“We did it for the Haymarket Martyrs. We did it for all the Black and Indigenous rebels murdered by slavers and settlers. We did it for all the brutalized student protesters. Above all we did it for the Palestinian martyrs!”
The group added that it considers the attack to be “preemptive.”
“After seeing Humboldt, Columbia, UCLA and more we knew the occupation at PSU would be swept violently and wanted to attack PPB before,” the group said.
“While we respect the student occupations, particularly the ones occupying buildings and causing damages to the colleges, we hate to see them passive and waiting to be attacked. Catch the police off guard! They do not believe you are free! Show them you are! Raid them before they raid you!”
Not surpisingly, Rachel Corrie’s Ghost Brigade did not provide additional details of its group or membership. Little could be found about the group via a quick internet search.
The Portland Fire Investigations Unit is investigating the suspected arson fires.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
