A federal judge in Portland has handed down a collective 450-year sentence to eight individuals convicted for their roles in the 2020 shooting outside an ICE detention facility. The sentences range from 45 to 60 years each, marking one of the harshest crackdowns on anti-government violence in recent memory. Sources confirm the rioters were part of a loosely organised group that ambushed security guards during a protest against immigration enforcement.
The attack left three guards injured, one permanently disabled. UK police tactics, including the use of kettle-style containment and intelligence-led arrests, were quietly adopted by US agencies during the investigation, according to leaked operational documents. The judge's statement emphasised deterrence, but critics argue the sentences are disproportionate and politically motivated.
Uncovered financial records show ties between the defendants and a shadowy funding network linked to anarchist cells across the West Coast. The prosecution's case relied heavily on cell phone data and encrypted chat logs, decrypted using techniques shared by British counter-terror units. As the families of the convicted face a lifetime without them, the question remains: is this justice or a message etched in steel bars?
