An anarchist threat, posted online, targeting federal aircraft with lasers reportedly forced emergency medical helicopters to divert from Oregon Health & Science University Hospital in Portland on Saturday night, putting lives at risk.
"Every night for weeks we are forced to listen to the threatening rhythm of helicopter blades as the federal regime spies on us," the Rose City Counter-Info website flyer read. "The only limit power knows is our refusal to submit.
"This Saturday, October 11th, you are invited to fight back. All you need is a laser. Leave home – they can see where the laser is coming from.
"Go to a park, a field, or some other public place, and once the clock strikes 9 unleash your beam at the cop copter. Mask up. Coordinate with friends to throw a laser party!
"Let's take back the night together! It won't take many of us to ground the helicopters!"
The antifa activism went further than merely taunting federal officials, it forced medical helicopters to divert on trips to the hospital, making the activity potentially deadly.
Several air ambulance operators refused to land at the hospital's helipad in South Portland, rerouting flights to nearby airports and delaying patient transfers by up to an hour, the New York Post reported.
Hospital officials warned the delay could be dangerous for trauma, stroke, and cardiac patients and urged the public not to participate in the event, calling it "extremely dangerous."
Pointing lasers at aircraft is illegal, according to the Portland Police Bureau, which said it regularly arrests offenders.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security condemned the threats, warning that aiming lasers at aircraft is a federal crime.
"Aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft is a federal crime," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement this week. "This is incredibly dangerous for the aircraft personnel and for the public’s safety.
"Antifa domestic terrorists WILL NOT overrun our cities. We will bust their networks and bring every one of them to justice."
Oregon Democrat Gov. Tina Kotek suggested her local law enforcement was in charge of the situation, claiming there is "no insurrection," despite the hospital, police, DHS, and federal officers warning of the dangers.
President Donald Trump's White House has condemned obstructionist Democrat leaders in the cities they control as counter to citizens' interests and safety.
He suggested the malign attempts to derail law and order are not just from antifa and anarchists, but the Democrat leaders they elect and protest for.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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