GOP portrayal of urban mayhem doesn't always match reality
Associated Press
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Shane Braswell, who has participated in Black Lives Matter protests this summer, plays guitar in front of a mural covering the entrance to an Apple store, Aug. 27, 2020 in Portland, Ore. Braswell said President Donald Trump's portrayal of Portland as a violent city overcome by mobs of protesters is inaccurate and grossly exaggerated. "I hate when people say, 'Portland riots' or 'Seattle riots.' You see it as a riot because it is something that's going against your administration or your beliefs or your principles when the majority of the country is fed up and marching arm-in-arm," he said. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)FILE - Protesters gather at the site of a Tuesday night shooting on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020 in Kenosha, Wis. A white, 17-year-old was arrested Wednesday after two people were shot to death during a third straight night of protests in Kenosha over the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)FILE - Police officers stand watch as fellow officers extinguish a fire lit by protesters behind the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse, Aug. 2, 2020, in Portland, Ore. Following an agreement between Democratic Gov. Kate Brown and the Trump administration to reduce federal officers in the city, nightly protests remained largely peaceful without major confrontations between protesters and officers. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)Isabelle Eley and her boyfriend Benjamin Green sit in Pioneer Courthouse Square, Aug. 27, 2020 in Portland, Ore. Green, a forklift operator in the Portland suburb of Beaverton, said he felt safe in the city and enjoyed his visit despite boarded up windows and graffiti from recent protests. "It's a pretty day and we feel just perfectly safe as long as we've got our masks on," said Green. "I don't see why there's any need to be scared to walk around out here." (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)FILE - A protester carries a U.S. flag upside down, a sign of distress, next to a burning building, Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis during protests over the death of George Floyd. Speaking at the Republican National Convention, President Donald Trump said, "The Republican Party condemns the rioting, looting, arson and violence we have seen in Democrat-run cities all, like Kenosha, Minneapolis, Portland, Chicago and New York, and many others." (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)FILE - Protesters gather at a memorial for George Floyd, June 1, 2020, in front of Cup Foods in Minneapolis. Floyd was killed May 25 while in police custody outside the store. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)FILE - Protesters march on the Brooklyn Bridge, Thursday, June 4, 2020, in New York under a U.S. flag with the slogan "I can't breathe." Protests continued following the death of George Floyd, who died after being suffocated by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)FILE - Bystanders watch as police investigate the scene of a multiple shooting near Brooklyn's Prospect Park, Wednesday Aug. 19, 2020, in New York. Police report an 18-year-old male died from gunshot wounds to the chest and arms and a 33-year-old male with a gunshot wound to the abdomen is in stable condition. Police recorded 280 killings through Aug. 23, up from 208 during the same period last year. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)FILE - Friends of Wesley Green light candles at a sidewalk memorial for him, July 28, 2020 in the Ditmas Park neighborhood of New York. Green, 32, was shot and killed near his home the day before. Police recorded 280 killings through Aug. 23. By comparison there were nearly 2,300 murders in New York City in 1990 and in 2000 the number was 673. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)FILE - People applaud while listening to an outdoor concert in Brooklyn's Ditmas Park neighborhood during the coronavirus outbreak, Sunday, June 21, 2020, in New York. Experts point out that violent crime has remained stable and low. In many major cities, there was looting and some property destruction during the height of the George Floyd racial justice protests, but order was restored months ago in most places, including New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)
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Shane Braswell, who has participated in Black Lives Matter protests this summer, plays guitar in front of a mural covering the entrance to an Apple store, Aug. 27, 2020 in Portland, Ore. Braswell said President Donald Trump's portrayal of Portland as a violent city overcome by mobs of protesters is inaccurate and grossly exaggerated. "I hate when people say, 'Portland riots' or 'Seattle riots.' You see it as a riot because it is something that's going against your administration or your beliefs or your principles when the majority of the country is fed up and marching arm-in-arm," he said. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)