'Patriot Prayer' Protester Gunned Down in the Streets of Portland

Rioting in Portland turned deadly over the weekend when one Trump supporter was gunned down while opposing protesters clashed in the street.

President Trump responded by raising the cry for law and order. But now that's turned into a war of words that's mirroring the violence in some American cities. The main exchange has come between the president and the Mayor of Portland.  The president called the mayor incompetent and a dummy.
  
Two gun blasts were caught on video late Saturday night in downtown Portland, followed by someone running away. In the end, one man was dead, identified as Aaron "Jay" Danielson, also known as Jay Bishop - said to be part of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer.  Police are still investigating what happened.

"We ask that anyone with information, or video, or eyewitness accounts, please come forward and share that information with investigators," said Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell. 

A young woman from Oregon City, Ore., prays during a rally in support of President Donald Trump on Aug. 29, 2020, in Clackamas, Ore. before a car parade to Portland. (AP Photo/Paula Bronstein)

The victim reportedly came along with some 600 trucks packed with Patriot Prayer group members, waving Pro-Trump flags, that rolled through the streets of Portland Saturday.  The counter-protesters clashed with marchers who've been demanding justice since George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis back in May – those protests ratcheting up to riot status at times.  
 
President Trump tweeted about Saturday's violence, saying Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is "incompetent much like sleepy Joe Biden. This is not what our great country wants. They want safety and security and do not want to defund our police."
 
Wheeler swiped back during a press conference Sunday.
 
"Do you seriously wonder, do you seriously wonder, Mr. President, why this is the first time in decades that America has seen this level of violence?" Wheeler said. "It's you who have created the hate and the division."

Democrat Presidential Nominee Joe Biden chimed in too, saying, "He's rooting for more violence not less and he's clear about that. And what he's doing is pouring gasoline on the fire."
  
Meanwhile, President Trump is preparing to head to Kenosha, Wisconsin on Tuesday, where protests have been ongoing for a week after police shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times. Police there are rebuking initial reports that Blake was unarmed, saying he had a knife and refused to drop it, then police tried to tase him several times before Blake put one officer in a chokehold when they tried to subdue him. Here's a police statement.
 
Though protests in Kenosha have been more peaceful in recent days, Rev. Jesse Jackson is calling for protestors to take the day off Tuesday altogether.

"Trump is coming to town to do a commercial, he needs a big confrontation," Jackson said. "We must not use this moment to embarrass ourselves with some form of violence. Non-violence is redemptive, violence is destructive."

Over the weekend Biden said he condemns violence of every kind, by anyone, whether on the left or the right – and he challenged President Trump to do the same. But Republicans point out, the Democrats didn't talk about violence in the streets during their convention two weeks ago.