Federal agents peppered sprayed Vietnam veteran/journalist Mike Hastie directly in the face as on Sunday night in Portland, Oregon according to Andrew Kimmel, a media producer who caught the encounter on video and shared it to social media. Hastie was expressing his anger at the agents, who have inflamed the situation in Portland, which continued for its 60th straight night on Sunday.
Newsweek reports: “After less than 20 seconds, one officer approaches him from somewhere off camera and dispenses pepper spray into Hastie’s face. He holds the canister closer than an arm’s length from Hastie. The federal agents, wearing camouflaged military gear, then proceed to leave the area. Upon moving past Hastie, officers tell him to ‘back up’ and ‘move.’ One shoves him when the group walks by.”
Hastie spoke to Kimmel after the encounter: “That was a direct spray.”
The organization VoteVets also shared the video, writing, “this is NOT how we should treat our veterans.”
The Guardian reports: “Trump has justified the move, saying it is intended to tackle anarchy and violence on the streets of Portland and other cities. But he has focused his rhetoric at the Democratic management of those cities in what critics have decried as a blatant electoral ploy ahead of November’s election. Far from quelling unrest, Trump’s actions have also lit a fuse under demonstrations in other cities. Protesters reconvened in Seattle on Sunday night in support of fellow demonstrators in Portland.”
