A victory for "Sovereign citizens" in Portland
The "Red House" standoff is teaching anti-government extremists how to get what they want.
After a summer of protests against police brutality and racial injustice across the United States - and nowhere more prevalent, and heated, than in Portland, Oregon - this story from Oregon Public Broadcasting about the “Red House” standoff explains a lot about why this eviction of an African-American family has become the latest cause celebre for that city’s activist community:
The Red House on Mississippi is an 1800s-era home that members of the Kinney family have owned since 1955. A website devoted to their eviction fight says the family came to Portland from Arkansas and bought the house in cash because Black families at the time were prevented from getting home loans. The neighborhood in North Portland was predominantly Black for generations, but in recent years has been developed and aggressively gentrified. Former residents of the area have hold stories of developers going door to door during the housing crisis offering stacks of cash for homes.
The Kinney family is one of the fe…
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