PORTLAND— On Sunday, August 16, a crowd of protesters beat a man bloody and unconscious in downtown Portland. The assault occurred near Southwest Broadway and Taylor Street, which was blocks away from a rally outside the Multnomah County Justice Center.
According to the Portland Police Bureau, the man who was beaten, Adam Haner, may have been trying to help a transgender female who had some of her things stolen by protesters at a nearby 7/11.
When Haner tried to stop them, he and his female companion were attacked. He got into his white Ford truck, which later crashed into a tree and a building. Haner was then dragged out of the car and beaten as he pleaded with the attackers. Obscenities were yelled at him throughout this.
The main offender has been identified as Marquise Love, 25. He wore a “SECURITY” vest as he persisted in his violence and kicked Haner, knocking him out with his head cracking on the road. Haner was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and is recovering.
In a GoFundMe, Brian Haner, Adam’s brother, said: “He would give the shirt off his back to help any of the people around him, and he really didn’t deserve what happened to him in Portland…. [He] has always been someone willing to step up and speak up to help someone being treated unfairly.”
Video footage of the incident was documented by Drew Hernandez, who is the host of Lives Matter.
Hernandez spoke to Fox News, detailing the assault:
“[Haner] didn’t hit anybody, he didn’t hit a single person… All he was doing was defending someone that they were physically assaulting and then they started assaulting him and his companion… I think he felt threatened… They chased him… until he finally crashed. When they finally caught up to him, they went nuts… One of these guys just turns around and drop kicks him from behind… [Haner was] knocked out cold.”
He added: “This was violent, extremely violent. Sometimes I forget I’m walking the streets of an American city in the Northwest. Sometimes it feels like you’re walking in a Third World county.”
The Portland Police Bureau has called on Marquise Love to turn himself in and warned the public not to try to contact him after personal information leaked online.
“The Portland Police Bureau is taking this assault and other incidents of violence extremely seriously. Our Detectives continue to investigate this assault as well as other acts of violence directed toward protesters, but we need more than just videos from social media. In order to hold individuals responsible for criminal acts, we need the public to provide information and refrain from tampering with evidence,” said Chief Lovell.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Detective Brent Christensen at 503-823-2087 or at Brent.Christensen@portlandoregon.gov.
