Conservative influencer Nick Sortor had his misdemeanor charge for second-degree disorderly conduct dropped on Monday, days after he was arrested during a chaotic protest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Oregon.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute Sortor because the crime he allegedly committed could not be proven “beyond a reasonable doubt” in court.
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“After a careful review of the investigation, including reports and video, we do not believe the crime of Disorderly Conduct can be proven against Mr. Sortor beyond a reasonable doubt,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement.
The defendant is still expected to attend a court hearing at 2 p.m. Monday local time, which would have been his arraignment before the charge was dropped.
“Free speech does not include the freedom to commit crimes. It does not matter if an individual is expressing ideology from the left, right, or center,” Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez said. “What matters is whether or not there is evidence to prove a crime was committed.”
The same misdemeanor charges remain against two other people who were arrested alongside Sortor. Their names are Angela Davis and Son Mi Yi.
Sortor celebrated the news in a social media post, crediting his lawyers’ demand for discovery evidence related to the Portland police’s alleged coordination with antifa for the district attorney’s decision. In the post, he teased that “this is ONLY the beginning.”
Late last week, the Portland Police Bureau briefly arrested Sortor after violent anti-ICE protesters ambushed him, and he tried defending himself. He was filming clashes between protesters and federal agents in Portland as the city was set to receive deployments of the National Guard.
News of his arrest and subsequent release quickly caught the attention of the Trump administration. In response, the Department of Justice announced an investigation into the Portland Police Bureau’s handling of protests at the ICE facility.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon is leading the investigation.
DOJ OFFICIAL PROBING PORTLAND POLICE REFERS ‘WOKE IDIOTS’ THREATS TO US MARSHALS
On Sunday, Dhillon alleged threats were made against her and revealed that they were referred to the U.S. Marshals Service. She claimed some of the threats came from “woke idiots,” including those working for Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA).
Newsom announced his intent to sue the Trump administration over its decision to deploy California National Guard troops to Portland. Hours later, a federal judge temporarily blocked the deployment.