Conservative influencer Nick Sortor gave a grim warning to the police of the city of Portland after he was arrested and later released during a protest outside of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
Sortor was arrested late Thursday on suspicion of second-degree disorderly conduct, along with two other people from Oregon, according to a news release from the Portland Police Bureau. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the Department of Justice will be “launching a full investigation into his arrest” during her press briefing later Friday.
The Portland Police Bureau said it was “monitoring the protest during the evening and observed some protest participants engaging in fights” in its release updated early Friday.
In a post on X on Friday, Sortor said that local law enforcement “made a big freaking mistake.”
“You PROVED what we’ve all been saying for years: you’re CORRUPT and CONTROLLED by vioIent Antifa thugs who terrorize the streets,” Sortor alleged, before adding: “You thought arresting me would make me shut up and go away. You couldn’t have been more wrong.”
MAGA world immediately came to his defense.
“He is OK and out for now,” far-right activist Jack Posobiec wrote on X. “But there is more to come. Portland is out of control.”
Gunther Eagleman, a popular MAGA personality, posted: “Portland PD f—– up!! It’s GO TIME!”
Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said that “there will be a SURGE of federal resources to Portland immediately.”
“This violence will end under @POTUS Trump,” McLaughlin added.
Fox News National Correspondent Bill Melugin posted that he witnessed anti-ICE protesters burn an American flag, prompting Sortor to grab it, extinguish the flames and take “away what was left of the flag.”
“Nick was arrested later in the night by Portland PD after videos appear to show him surrounded by anti-ICE protesters,” Melugin wrote on X. “It’s unclear what exactly happened…”
Katie Daviscourt, an investigative reporter for The Post Millennial who was also on the scene, claimed that an “Antifa subject got into a physical altercation” with Sortor.
The arrest of Sortor comes as the Trump administration has made Portland the next target of the president’s crackdown on crime in Democratic-led cities. ABC News reported earlier this week the National Guard began undergoing initial military training on how to respond to civil disturbances, after Trump announced he would deploy troops to “protect” the “war-ravaged” city.
“When you go out to Portland and you see what’s happening in Portland, this is like nobody’s ever seen anything like it, every night,” Trump said last month. “And this has gone on for years. They just burn the place down. And you know, the shop owners, most of them have left.”
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.