FBI Portland keeps close tab on political violence threats

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump raised fears of political violence across the county, including Portland, with its history of political unrest.

When Trump was first elected in November 2016, three days of protests turned into riots. Anarchists broke off from peaceful protesters , which led to businesses being damaged, windows smashed, freeways closed and more than 100 arrests.

FBI Special Agent In Charge Doug Olson told KOIN 6 News on Monday the FBI is always monitoring threats, including cyber threats, and is working with other law enforcement agencies to try and identify threats before they turn into violence.

“We’ve already had a tabletop exercise here. We have an election team made up of members of our criminal investigators, cyber investigators, and counterintelligence investigators that focus just on the election,” Olson said. “They go out and do outreach with different community groups and with our law enforcement partners to kind of talk about different scenarios and what we would do if those scenarios came up.”

Meanwhile, the Portland Police Bureau reinstated its rapid response crowd control team to deal with violence as it happens. The new team is modified using lessons learned from the George Floyd protests of 2020.

“We use them for the high acuity where we have high threats, where we need to have folks in protective gear to be able to go in and remove people. That’s one piece of it,” PPB Commander Craig Dobson said. “We also have liaisons. Those liaisons work up front at the beginning to contact organizers and other folks to try to reach out and find out how can we help facilitate events to keep the temperature down, to help people focus on their First Amendment rights and not allow emotions and tensions to grow.”

The hardest threat to anticipate is the threat from a “lone wolf.” Both agencies said that’s where the public comes in. If you see something that concerns you from a friend or family member, contact law enforcement.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.