Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler got a taste of his own medicine during a publicity stunt outside the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon just a few minutes ago when federal officers gassed him. He was standing up against the fence outside the federal courthouse when a giant cloud engulfed him and his security guards led him away. He had suffered a little bit of gas earlier but nothing like that. After his first gassing he commented about house he was overwhelmed by the symptoms and that he did not see how anyone could follow directions during something like that. He said he was focused just on what the gas was doing to him.
He looked shocked and like he probably would have stayed longer, so maybe I am jumping the gun when I say that I agreed with the people that called him a coward when he left. Hopefully, if the good speech he gave earlier meant anything he will be back tomorrow and better prepared.
UPDATE: Here is some great footage that really captures what happened to Ted tonight. As you can see #TearGasTed earned his handle by getting his cherry popped wearing nothing but goggles and a medical mask. To his credit, he had never been tear gassed before and anyone who has will tell you that it is a life changing experience. It is a shock that he handled it as well as he did. That did not stop the crowd from turning against him when he ran away though, probably because he had promised to stay out there with them as long as it would take. Again, to his credit he did stay out there a long time and managed to delay the inevitable for a little while, but this looked a lot like a photo-op. Time will tell if Ted really meant what he said when he was speaking earlier and whether or not this gets him to reconsider his policies on tear gas.
We would like to know how Mayor Wheeler posed such a risk to the security of the federal building or its staff that they were justified using this amount of force on him?
Video from https://www.facebook.com/DVM.PDXLivestream