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Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front

Decentralized network of autonomous youth collectives dedicated to direct action towards total liberation.

The groups origin and its structure is not known. Possibly is an organization or a social-media presence used to promote action among activist youth. There are no apparent public leaders.

Monday, 13 July 2020PNW Youth Liberation Front: the New “Anti-fascist” Group Taking Portland by Storm= Written by Luis Miguel

An “anti-fascist” group gaining newfound attention is among the chief groups provoking conflict and violence in Portland, according to reports.

The Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front claims to be an “anonymous” collective of anti-capitalist, anti-fascist teens whose agitations have resulted in assaults on public property and severely injured persons.

In a lengthy piece on the group, the Seattle Times said the PNW Liberation Front seeks to upend the U.S. political system. Its unverified Twitter account boasts over 21,000 followers and features a bio describing itself as a “decentralized network of autonomous youth collectives dedicated to direct action towards liberation.” A Facebook page for the group has over 3,600 followers.

Early Monday, the group tweeted, “The Feds and Portland Police are very quickly finding out that if they build a fortress and use literal siege tactics, the People will put their f—ing fortress under siege.”

A cloud of mystery hangs over the group, its origin, and its structure. It is not known whether it is a true organization or simply a social-media presence being used for calls to action among leftist-minded youth. There are no public leaders.

PNW Youth Liberation Front has apparently existed on social media since at least 2017. It was involved in an attempt last month to create the “Patrick Kimmons Autonomous Zone” in front of Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s apartment in imitation of Seattle’s Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP), which was recently cleared out by police.

Early Monday, the group tweeted, “Portland is an autonomous zone, b–ch.”

Another tweet from the account says, “Your protest can NEVER be peaceful if it perpetuates the violence of policing.”

The “anti-fascist” collective has been active in the riots and protests following the death of George Floyd, tying its actions to those of Black Lives Matter. Its calls to action have included organizing the occupation of the Multnomah County Justice Center, which became a site of a mass protest until cleared out by police.

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An article by Oregon Lives that looks at PNW Youth Liberation Front notes their penchant for confrontational tactics:

The stated goals on the post range from calling for an end to militarized weapons by police, to taxing the wealthy, to increased funding for a reformed school system.

Social media accounts for the PNW Youth Liberation Front have existed since February 2017. Their social media presence shows involvement in protests against gun violence, police, fascist groups, extraction industries and ICE, as well as engaging in mutual aid actions like providing free meals to those in need and advocating for the homeless.

A post dedicated to the group on the socialist revolutionary blog Radical Guide says that they seek “liberation of all people through any means necessary.” In addition to the aforementioned goals, they also want to “end the war on the working class by ending brutal gentrification practices and other anti-working class policies.”

Although PNW Youth Liberation Front declares itself “anti-fascist,” a spokesperson for Rose City Antifa said the two groups are not working in tandem. Other radical leftist groups such as PDX Resistance and Popular Mobilization have shared PNW Youth Liberation Front’s calls to action on their social-media accounts.

The group is one of several that have stirred up violence in Portland in recent days. Agitators have sought to occupy federal facilities since May 28 and the field office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was even targeted by a Molotov cocktail.

On Friday, a federal officer in Portland was struck with a hammer on the head and shoulder. Several people were arrested in connection to the incident outside a courthouse, where several dozen demonstrators were gathered.

The individual who struck the officer was reportedly attempting to break down the door to the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse. Also over the weekend, police responded to unrest with impact munition, which struck an agitator in the head, fracturing his skull. The 26-year-old man survived but required surgery.

Mayor Wheeler said the U.S. Marshalls are investigating the incident:

In subsequent tweets, the mayor said, “We are now more than a month and a half into witnessing nightly violence on our streets. Portland continues to be used as a staging ground for violence night after night.”

He appeared to put the blame, however, on law enforcement and vowed to limit the police department’s use of force.

President Trump weighed in on the situation in Portland, saying that local authorities are unable to manage the situation by themselves, which justifies the presence of federal officers on the scene.

“It was out of control, the locals couldn’t handle it, and you people are handling it very nicely,” said the president.

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https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/item/36352-pnw-youth-liberation-front-the-new-anti-fascist-group-taking-portland-by-storm

https://pnwylf.noblogs.org/