Portland Police arrested a Democrat staffer for the top Democrat in Oregon’s House of Representatives this weekend after she interfered with a police officer during a particularly violent riot.
She was reportedly released the same day on her own recognizance.
“Kristina Narayan was arrested for interfering with a police officer after the event became a riot and the crowd was given multiple orders to disperse, which she did not do,” a police spokesperson told Fox News.
Narayan, who is legislative director for House Speaker Tina Kotek, was arrested along with 58 other agitators during a riot in which fire bombs, mortars, rocks, and other items were thrown at law enforcement. The violence began at about 9:00 p.m. near the East Portland Community Policing Center Saturday night, and continued into Sunday morning, according to the Portland Police Bureau report.
Narayan, 29, has worked for Kotek since September 2016, according to her LinkedIn profile.
The East Precinct police station, a repeated target of violent antifa/BLM arsonists and vandals, is reportedly located near occupied townhomes and is across the street from a school and a community event center.
Many in the antifa mob were “dressed in protective gear including helmets, gas masks, body armor, and all black clothing” Saturday night, tipping off the cops that their intent (for the 100th+ night in a row) “was not peaceful protest.”
Portland Police Rapid Response Team and Oregon State Police were deployed to respond to the threat.
Officers positioned themselves to block the agitators from reaching the East Precinct and announced over a loudspeaker that the march would “not be allowed to proceed that direction.”
At about 9:15 p.m, as the crowd approached officers, individuals began throwing multiple fire bombs at officers. One of them caught a community member on fire. Officers later located the injured person and Portland Fire and Rescue medics offered treatment. The injured person was later taken to a hospital by private vehicle.
This criminal activity presented an extreme danger to life safety for all community members, and prompted a declaration of a riot. The crowd was advised over loudspeaker that it was a riot and they were to leave the area to the east immediately. They were warned that failure to adhere to this order may subject them to arrest, citation, or crowd control agents, including, but not limited to, tear gas and/or impact weapons.
Police bull rush, push protestors, protestors throw fireworks pic.twitter.com/xGXksKnJR2
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) September 6, 2020
Individuals within the crowd began throwing illegal fireworks/mortars at officers. Others were seen throwing rocks. At least one had a “wrist-rocket” type of slingshot launching unknown objects. In order to defend themselves from these assaults, officers used crowd control munitions, including tear gas. Officers made numerous targeted arrests.
Tear gas is being used pic.twitter.com/rV5B0UKSyG
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) September 6, 2020
For the next four hours, the crowd appeared to meander through the Mill Park community, attempting to get to get around the police blockade and reach East Precinct. Officers moved ahead of the rioters to prevent them access. Rioters lit fires in the streets, including dumpsters, garbage cans, and wooden pallets. Officers moved in to push the crowd back in order to extinguish the fires.
During numerous confrontations with officers, individuals launched attacks on law enforcement, including throwing objects. A sergeant was directly struck by a commercial grade firework, which burned through his glove and injured his hand (photos). Several officers and troopers were struck by rocks in the head, arms, shoulders, and feet. Only their protective gear prevented serious injury. An Oregon State Police vehicle was damaged by rocks, including broken windows and dents (photos). An unexploded mortar was recovered by police (photo).
Of the people who were arrested, at least two were wearing body armor, one had a dagger, and another had a knife.
Because Portland police precincts had to pull officers out of patrol to assist with the riot, their ability to respond to calls were severely limited. “At about 2:00 a.m., there were almost 150 calls for service holding in the City of Portland,” the police report stated.
Narayan’s boss, Rep. Kotek, 53, wrote a scathing letter to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler back in July, chastising him for allowing the Portland Police to interfere with “peaceful protests.”
“It was an unnecessary escalation by the PPB against people exercising their freedom of assembly and freedom of speech,” Kotek after the police had responded to a riot.
“It showed an utter inability to exercise restraint,” she scolded.
Earlier this month, Kotek advocated for the decriminalization of interfering with a peace officer.
House Speaker @TinaKotek advocates for taking interfering with a peace officer off the books in her latest newsletter after reading my story on its use against protesters and homeless people. Here’s the story: https://t.co/8uqXkPX1Ve https://t.co/5uMrxecbwF
— Molly Harbarger (@MollyHarbarger) September 2, 2020