# Feds 'black-bagging people' in Portland **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 18, 2020, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638 "2020-07-18T03:19:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 44
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/863 "2020-07-26T05:13:14Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > So, anyone have an answer for how many people were “black-bagged”? I suspect the answer is very few, and this is pretty much a bullshit story as far as this being widespread. Can anyone prove me wrong?  How many is acceptable? ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/864 "2020-07-26T05:14:46Z")
None. Do you have an answer for me? Question your assumptions. Or don’t.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/865 "2020-07-26T05:19:35Z")
Snopes [Were Portland Protesters 'Kidnapped' by Federal Officers in Unmarked Vans? | Snopes.com](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/feds-unmarked-vans-portland/) Only one “Black bagged” can be confirmed, one other is probable. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/866 "2020-07-26T05:22:34Z")
Over the radio yesterday, I think I heard one of the U.S. attorneys for the District of Oregon announce that something like 45 protesters were arrested and now face federal criminal charges. I can’t tell you how many of those involved black bags or unmarked vans, and I can’t tell you how many people were similarily detained without being formally charged. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/867 "2020-07-26T05:24:07Z")
Yes, I believe that is the same link I posted. But it is does not definitively say, or attempt to guess at, if others happened. Or if it did, I missed it. I suspect that this just another in a somewhat long line of stories, that if they were as bad as made out to be in the press, would show Trump to be an even more horrible person than he is, and are too good of a story for some people NOT to make up shit about. Why stick to the truth about Trump when it is oh so much easier to just invent stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/868 "2020-07-26T05:26:41Z")
Thanks for the reply. Since you mentioned it, I will comment on the unmarked vans: what is wrong with them? I tend to accept Cuccinelli’s response, that they are common, and are used so as not to be an obvious target for protesters. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/869 "2020-07-26T05:28:38Z")
As far as actual bags go, _[The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/us/portland-protests.html)_ reports Mr. Pettibone as claiming an “officer pulled my beanie down so I couldn’t see”. So I wouldn’t expect to see a pattern of terrorist-style black bags going over the heads of abducted protesters. It sounds like they just pulled down his hat. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/870 "2020-07-26T05:32:40Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > None. Do you have an answer for me? Question your assumptions. Or don’t.🙂 Just who do you suppose is keeping a tally? I don’t think the feds are. Who else would be? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/871 "2020-07-26T05:32:47Z")
The only concern I see with unmarked vans is (was) that - combined with a lack of clear “police” identification on uniforms - people might mistake the officers for terrorists or kidnappers and resist arrest. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/872 "2020-07-26T05:48:33Z")
The Uniforms mostly have a subdued (camo) arm patch showing what forces (Border patrol, etc) and a **POLICE** across the front (which is reflective in most pictures I have seen). The arm patch is very hard to discern in the dark, and both can be bought on eBay, etc. So, yeah, you got guys in camo uniforms wearing “Police” but nothing else clearly. And they could be real Police or Mercs like BlackWater or maybe even right wing “militia” who have bought a patch that says “Police.” That last is doubtful, sure, but… The reason why you _know_ they are police is that they are in large platoons. No individual names, badges numbers etc are shown, from what I can see. _That is not good._ 🤬 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/873 "2020-07-26T06:00:05Z")
That’s what **Doc** gets for relying on the _Daily Fail_. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/874 "2020-07-26T06:10:42Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > None. Do you have an answer for me? Question your assumptions. Or don’t.🙂 …one of the reasons why people are out in the streets is to make sure this **stays in the news** and to **stop it from happening again**. Did it happen a couple of times and people hit the streets to protest to ensure it didn’t happen again? Looks like the people did their jobs. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/875 "2020-07-26T06:24:02Z")
I don’t care what the protesters have to say as long as they actually do it peacefully and not the doublespeak adjective that’s being used to describe them. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/876 "2020-07-26T07:06:31Z")
Goon Squads using so much tear gas they’re managing to choke out inmates in the county jail on the EIGHTH FLOOR. FFS. > **[Downtown jail inmates hitting panic buttons due to tear gas wafting into...](https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/07/downtown-jail-inmates-hitting-panic-buttons-due-to-tear-gas-wafting-into-cells-lawyers-say.html)** > > Several defense lawyers have heard from their clients, inmates at the Multnomah County Detention Center in downtown Portland, that tear gas has been seeping into their cells in the downtown Justice Center this week. Whoever it is that had the genius idea to play the “[Imperial March](https://streamable.com/m75uee)” whenever the Goon Squads are on the move is my favorite person right now. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/877 "2020-07-26T07:22:17Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Whoever it is that had the genius idea to play the “[Imperial March](https://streamable.com/m75uee)” whenever the Goon Squads are on the move is my favorite person right now. I want to send them money to keep buying more batteries… ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/878 "2020-07-26T10:22:17Z")
Followed some of the Seattle news. One story, I have my doubts about because it, said that the police claimed that the protesters threw “rocks, bottles, fireworks and mortars” at the police. Mortars? Threw mortars? Who throws mortars? Alchemists? There was some coverage (NBC local) that was saying the police forced the protesters down the street and then the protesters pushed the police line back up the street. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/879 "2020-07-26T11:06:34Z")
Mortars, [![](https://blog.jakesfireworks.com/hs-fs/hubfs/artillery%20shells.jpg?width=1536&name=artillery%20shells.jpg) ](https://blog.jakesfireworks.com/hs-fs/hubfs/artillery%20shells.jpg?width=1536&name=artillery%20shells.jpg) [![](http://www.pyrojunkiefireworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/PJ200140wshadow.png) ](http://www.pyrojunkiefireworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/PJ200140wshadow.png) CMC ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/880 "2020-07-26T11:44:31Z")
I was watching it live on the local news ABC, NBC and CBS. It’seems pretty easy to Google the stuff now. For example there are tweets from a new York times reporter that was in the protest describing these two things: 1 - the restaurant owner that got attacked, apparently they said he was taking pictures with his phone of the crowd 2- the Starbucks that got damaged also had a fire set inside and the protesters asked the residents in the apartments above the Starbucks to evacuate ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/881 "2020-07-26T11:49:34Z")
I’very seen people throw mortars (the firework portion that you light that explodes) around the 4th of july, why do you question whether they would do it at a protest? I’very seen exploding fireworks that had been thrown at police that looked like mortars based on the type of display it had when it exploded. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638/882 "2020-07-26T11:51:23Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > I was watching it live on the local news ABC, NBC and CBS. It’seems pretty easy to Google the stuff now. …except I’ve just googled ’ restaurant owner BLM attacked seattle ’ (no quotes) and **nothing** is coming up in the news feed. So if there is a New York Times reporter describing those two things, why don’t you copy and paste a link to his twitter feed (or even his name) instead of doing the exact same thing I complained about in the previous post? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638.md?page=43) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feds-black-bagging-people-in-portland/915638.md?page=45)