(TargetLiberty.org) – A former United States Marine from Portland, OR, says he’s been subjected to harassment, intimidation and racist abuse. The reason? Because he displayed a US flag near the city’s beleaguered federal courthouse building.
Gabriel Johnson, who’s spent his whole life in Portland, except for his years serving our country, lives just one block away from the courthouse, which has been under siege from violent mobs since late May. He says the sound of rioting and frequent explosions – he’s counted more than 80 – has been keeping him awake at night. Last Sunday, he’d finally had enough, so he picked up a US flag and walked out to confront the rioters.
Black Marine vet holds US flag high amid chaotic Portland protest, gets followed home by Antifa https://t.co/BNCPYmVyN7 #FoxNews
antifia and blm scumbags the lot. I salute the Marine. Who by the way is a REAL citizen of our country unlike the antifa/blm terrorist scum.
— Ardent Federalist (@ArdentFederali1) July 23, 2020
Johnson says he knew the flag would be a divisive symbol to the mob, but was surprised at how extreme the reaction was. “I was being called the N-word by Black people,” he said. “People were chasing me around with baseball bats.” When rioters tried to set fire to Johnson’s flag, a 65-year-old man, another Black veteran, stepped in to protect it – and was viciously beaten by BLM supporters.
Most chilling of all, a woman coordinating the riots with a walkie-talkie and displaying Antifa logos, showed Johnson footage of rioters following him home, in what he believes was a deliberate attempt to intimidate him. He’s not backing down, though. “I fought for this country,” he said, “and this is not what I fought for.”
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