Siege Notes, Portland July 6: Firing on Fort Hatfield

Last night the antifa occupation encampment was relatively quiet after a riotous Independence Day. Around midnight they seemed to be staging for something; small groups were stationed at intersections around the siege, the focal point of which is now the ruins of the 120 year-old Elk statue, where bonfires burn nightly.
I thought I saw them using radios. They also have their own ambulance now.

The rioters have turned their attention to the Mark O Hatfield Federal Courthouse in recent days after ignoring it, for the most part just covering it in graffiti, to concentrate on the Justice Center. Turns out last Thursday antifa breached the courthouse doors and set off fireworks inside and the feds made an arrest:

A 19-year-old man accused of attempting to barricade the front door of the downtown courthouse in Portland late Thursday night faces allegations of creating a hazard and disorderly conduct on federal property and failing to obey a lawful order. 

A federal affidavit filed in court Monday described a “wrestling match'' between federal officers inside the courthouse and a handful of demonstrators who were tugging on the front glass door of the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse before it shattered, followed by fireworks detonated inside.   

Once the door was broken about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, objects were thrown at officers just inside the doorway, including a “mortar firework” which detonated, Miller wrote in the affidavit.

Laying off the federal courthouse and federal building on each side of the Justice Center may have been a wise strategy for avoiding lengthy federal prison sentences from federal judges not necessarily in league with antifa and local government and prosecutors.
I think this arrestee sounds sufficiently sobered by the charges feds are threatening him with:

During his afternoon court appearance, Olsen spoke out, saying he had reaccessed his thinking while in custody, and said he’d like to play a role in asking protesters “not to create more violence'' but find a way to talk with officers going forward “about what needs to change rather than creating more destruction in our city.”

Was the decision to lay off the feds something that came from above? I think so. Does recent activity suggest those above don't have a lot of control?

The reasons antifa are giving for declaring the feds fair game, using their peculiar logic, is that US Marshals arrested people for attacking the building the first time.

This logic holds for the individual rioter, many of whom bring a hatred of the cops based entirely on social conditioning. Clashing with them gives their hate an experiential base. This seems to be the point for many--an absolution of the shame they feel not being oppressed by the police.

They welcome this process and experience it with religious fervor.