The Department of Justice will investigate the arrest of conservative influencer Nick Sortor.
Sortor, who has been chronicling the unfolding antifa violence in Portland, Oregon, over the past weeks, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of second-degree disorderly conduct Thursday night, but has posted on X that the charge is bogus.
“Hey @PortlandPolice: you made a big freaking mistake. You PROVED what we’ve all been saying for years: you’re CORRUPT and CONTROLLED by vioIent Antifa thugs who terrorize the streets You thought arresting me would make me shut up and go away. You couldn’t have been more wrong. Stay tuned,” he wrote.
Hey @PortlandPolice: you made a big freaking mistake.
You PROVED what we’ve all been saying for years: you’re CORRUPT and CONTROLLED by vioIent Antifa thugs who terrorize the streets
You thought arresting me would make me shut up and go away. You couldn’t have been more wrong.… pic.twitter.com/Dz8oJ3V8NP
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) October 3, 2025
In a separate post, he said top Justice Department officials are going to examine the circumstances of his arrest.
“Attorney General Pam Bondi has ORDERED a full investigation, led by Asst. AG Harmeet Dhillon, of the Portland Police Bureau, following my wrongful arrest last night, Bondi confirmed to me. FAFO, @PortlandPolice,” he wrote.
Sortor said Bondi “personally called me to deliver this news, and I’m incredibly grateful to her for doing so.
“The Trump DOJ WILL NOT allow Portland Police to continue to do the bidding of Antifa.”
Nick and I have spoken, as have @AGPamBondi and I. This is a high priority for @CivilRights. About damn time Portland took the law seriously. ???? https://t.co/9gqyjnyP6d
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) October 3, 2025
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon posted on X that the Justice Department was indeed looking at the case.
“This is a high priority for @CivilRights. About damn time Portland took the law seriously,” she wrote.
“Portland: it’s FO time. Buckle up,” she added in another post.
Portland: it’s FO time. Buckle up. https://t.co/lp4RJ2QSi7
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) October 3, 2025
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the federal government is looking into the arrest, according to Portland’s KOIN-TV.
“This incident is part of a troubling trend in Portland where left-wing mobs believe they get to decide who can visit and live in their city,” Leavitt said. “It is not their city; it is the American people’s city, and President Trump is going to restore that.”
Leavitt said Sortor’s arrest was “extremely troubling,” adding that Sortor was “ambushed by antifa and was defending himself,” according to Oregon Live.
Acting at the direction of our @AGPamBondi, we @CivilRights have launched an investigation into Portland, OR’s highly questionable police practices. Stay tuned. We will
not leave the people of Portland at the whims of criminals and woke cops. Govern yourselves accordingly! https://t.co/DUzpsFVwaW— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) October 3, 2025
Dhillon posted to X a letter to Portland police saying the Justice Department was concerned Portland police were practicing “viewpoint discrimination.”
Portland Police Chief Bob Day said his department has done nothing wrong and called the federal scrutiny “an opportunity for Portland police and the City of Portland to highlight the exceptional professionalism that I see every day,” according to KOIN.
“The irony here is we were condemned here in 2020 for our approach toward the left, and now we’re being condemned in 2025 for our approach toward the right,” he said. “So I would say we’ve landed right in the middle of the fairway.”
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