On Monday, Portland’s KGW reported that about 60% of the rioters that were arrested during the week of anti-Trump protests did not vote in the 2016 Presidential election. According to the report, 69 of the 112 democratic demonstrators who were enraged by Trump’s big victory were either not registered or did not cast a ballot in the election. Those arrested were contributing to the violent behavior and property destruction that erupted in the Portland area during protests that turned into riots as people were upset about the outcome of the election. The irony of the situation with those taking to the streets enraged that their voices aren’t being heard not taking advantage of the privilege of voting as a means to participate and make their voice heard leaves some speculation that many of the destructive demonstrators are just looking to disturb the peace, regardless of the cause.
As protests became out of control, Police declared the area be cleared and those who did not comply were subject to arrest. Prosecutors say those who refused to follow the orders of the Police will be issued traffic citations.
Kevin Grisby, one of the protestors arrested in the Portland riot told KGW that he didn’t vote because of his issue with the electoral college.
“I did not (vote) and the reason why is because we know that the electoral college is really what matters the most. And I think that we need to change that because your vote doesn’t matter if you don’t have enough electoral college points.,” Grigsby told KGW.
Another protestor told KGW that the numbers they were looking at were skewed, because they were only seeing the information from those arrested.
“You just look at your sample and it’s the people who got arrested. And the people who got arrested, I just don’t think they’re representative of the majority of the people who are out protesting,” he told KGW.
While 69 of those arrested protestors could be verified as not having voted in the election, there are still a greater number of the 112 that have not been confirmed to have voted and could possibly also have chosen to forgo the voting process. As possible protests continue and new information comes to light, the number arrested may continue to grow as police are searching for a few perpetrators caught destroying property on camera that have yet to be identified. The Portland Police have been issuing requests for the public to help identify the suspects so they can hold them accountable for what they have done.
According to KGW, the Portland Police declared that one of the protest nights they officially declared a “riot” and found that there was more than $1 million dollars in property damage.
[revad2]
