The Trump Department of Justice is working with Oregon law enforcement to arrest and prosecute violent rioters who have so far escaped accountability for their alleged crimes.
Those crimes include threats to police officers and city employees, and one man who claimed to have planted a bomb in a local police precinct.
Fox News reported on the three arrests made public on Thursday:
The FBI arrested Kyle Robert Tornow, 36, on Wednesday morning in connection with the false threat, which was made through Portland Police Bureau’s “TrackIT” online communication system on July 24, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.
Tornow, a Seattle resident, allegedly used a fake name to report that he would plant an explosive inside on of PPB’s precincts. He was charged with making a threat to damage and destroy a building and later admitted to sending the threat.
“I am going to bomb a police precinct in Portland, OR. The bomb is already in place and has been packaged in a way that prevents detection from canine officers. Unless your officers disengage your war with the citizens of Portland I will blow up this precinct,” Tornow wrote, according to the criminal complaint of his arrest.
“You are weak. We are strong, many and fluid in nature,” Tornow wrote. “If I am caught, others will take my place and immediately detonate the bomb. This is a felony threat. Please take this seriously to avoid death.”
The DOJ said Tornow, who has previously been arrested for harassment and car theft, could face up to ten years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Jesse Herman Bates, 38, made a court appearance on Wednesday on civil disorder charges for allegedly shooting a firefighter in the chest with a metal ball bearing on the morning of July 13.
On Aug. 24, Portland police said Michelle Peterson O’Connor, 31, picked up a helmet and threw it at a police officer, striking him in the head while he as making an arrest, according to DOJ.
Press Release: Mass Gathering Blocks Streets and Throws Projectiles towards Officers, Arrests Made
Link: https://t.co/cZhbhrdRE6 pic.twitter.com/xrplGSUo2P— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) September 3, 2020
Meanwhile, Portland police said that the nightly violence continues with additional arrests made on Wednesday night.
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