Portland Has Suddenly Gone Quiet

Birds-eye view of Antifa facing off with federal agents at the ICE facility. (October 5, 2025)

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Portland, Oregon. You know what it is and what is has become under the far-left’s control. For months, Antifa and its allies have been very active in their fight against the Trump administration. Their constant protests and riots outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility largely went under the radar during the summer, with other cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago drawing greater attention.

It was mainly conservative reporters, such as Katie Daviscourt, and local live streamers who could be relied upon to keep tabs on what was happening by the city’s waterfront on a nightly basis. While I was in Portland in June, it wasn’t until summer was over when I finally had time to head there once again. Antifa’s momentum was renewed after President Donald Trump announced he was going to deploy the Oregon National Guard to protect the federal building. Naturally, the local radicals objected to the deployment and filed a lawsuit to stop it.

The Guard deployment has been languishing in court battles for weeks. First it was halted, then an appeals court overturned the first court’s decision, then that overturning was put on pause by the same appeals court.

When I was able to be inside the facility for an embed, the same initial judge stopped the California National Guard from being used in Portland. Up until the previous day, the ICE facility was fully prepared to host the guardsmen.

This past weekend was another call to action from Portland’s anarcho-communists to gather outside the ICE facility. Plans were made before the appeals court halted the implementation of its ruling. It was looking like it was going to be another busy weekend for DHS personnel.

Ultimately, I decided to stay home to have a much-needed weekend. A few of my friends and colleagues went to Portland to see if anything would happen. In short, it was very quiet compared to the past few months. The heavy wind and rain didn’t help matters in terms of encouraging turnout, but it is deeper than that.

Antifa is not oblivious to the news cycle. As much as they want to cause mayhem and take the fight to ICE and DHS, they know they can manipulate the mainstream media and the center-left by deliberately slow-rolling their “direct action.” They can’t overplay their hands, especially with the military being deployed hanging over their heads. They don’t want to cause too much of a problem so much so that the government’s lawyers can point to what they are currently doing.

It’s a smart strategy. It coincides with the colder weather anyway so why not rest up until the springtime? They’ll still organize to blast out locations of federal operations in their city on social media, but it won’t be at the center of attention nationwide with other things happening.

It’s the same reason why the Portland Police Bureau is suddenly enforcing basic laws outside the facility following months of inaction. PPB officers swept an encampment next to the ICE building this weekend, which does hurt Antifa’s ability to stay outside for days. While it’s being done for cynical reasons, at least it’s happening.

That said, other terrorist attacks could still happen, not just in Portland, but at other DHS property as well. Antifa’s cool down period will only last for so long, as their zealotry for chaos will eventually see them take to the streets again.