On Friday, a 24-year-old Antifa member was sentenced to six years in prison for his role in a violent attack on another man during a downtown Portland demonstration last June.
Gage Halupowski of Oregon City was sentenced to 70 months in jail for attacking Adam Kelly in Portland with a metal baton, requiring him to receive some 25 staples for his head injuries, The Washington Times reported.
Halupowski plead guilty to second-degree assault.
His attorney, Edward Kroll said, Halupowski made “a really terrible decision,” Oregon Live reported.
“My take on the case is, yes, prison time was almost certainly warranted in this case,” Kroll said. “But I also think that sending a 24-year-old with no history away for at least 4-1/2 to five years, if not more — I think that’s too harsh in this particular circumstance.”
CONTENT WARNING: Police have declared a civil disturbance after a violent brawl broke out between left- and right-wing protesters today. Video by Sergio Olmos/Underscore. Full story: https://t.co/dJMlSoDkg6 pic.twitter.com/fx8hELNziW
— Portland Tribune (@ThePortlandTrib) June 29, 2019
The attorney said that with the compelling video footage of the attack, Halupowski had to take the plea deal and he was left with very limited options.
The Facebook video showed Kelly being kicked, sprayed and struck by masked black-clad activists associated with Rose City Antifa.
The attack took place just outside The Nines Hotel along Southwest Morrison Street.
“Law enforcement witnessed a person, later identified as Halupowski, run up behind Mr. Kelly and strike him on the top of the head with an expandable metal baton,” the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said of the incident.
According to court documents, that police officer tracked Halupowski and other officers helped take him into custody.
Halupowski allegedly assaulted one of the police officers at the time of his arrest.
Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Melissa Marrero agreed with the sentence. She said the attack was “completely unexplainable, completely avoidable and didn’t need to happen.”
Marrero said they initially considered charging Halupowski with first-degree assault and riot charges, which would have held a minimum sentence of 90 months.
The plea deal also reportedly saw Halupowski’s charges for assaulting a peace officer dropped.
Marrero said, “My office has individuals charged on both sides of the political spectrum. We are not picking sides based on political affiliation, political views or anything like that.”
The incident was a rival demonstration between right-wing demonstrators and the left-wing Antifa groups, which police later labeled a civil disturbance.
Halupowski was one of three people arrested during the violent incident on June 23.
One other individual has been charged and others are being investigated from that particular protest.
