New Policy on Portland Riots: Drop Some Charges, Since ‘Frustration Can Escalate to Levels That Violate The Law’

Mike Schmidt, Multnomah County’s new district attorney, has announced that charges will be dropped for the majority of those arrested during 80 days of protests and riots in Portland, Oregon. He says some of those arrested are “deeply frustrated with what they perceive to be structural inequities in our basic social fabrics, and this frustration can escalate to levels that violate the law.”