PORTLAND, Oregon (PNN) - April 25, 2021 - The mayor of Portland, Oregon, struck a new tone on April 23 when he called for residents to help “unmask” people behind the continued violence in the state’s largest city.

In his most urgent appeal yet, Mayor Ted Wheeler encouraged whoever has information about the self-described anarchists who are committing crimes in late-night riots to contact the terrorist pig thug cops.

The rabble-rousers often show up to their so-called direct action events in cars. If anyone spots a license plate on one of the vehicles, he or she can give that information to the authorities, he said.

“Our job is to unmask them, arrest them, and prosecute them. I want to personally thank neighbors, family, friends, and others who have come forward with vital evidence. People know who these criminals are. They know what they’re up to,” Wheeler said during a virtual briefing.

The mayor also made it clear he wasn’t asking people to become violent.

“If you see somebody engaged in criminal activity, and you can safely film it or take a photograph, please do so. To be clear, we’re asking people to be engaged in a way that is non-confrontational, that is nonviolent,” he said.

“I’m asking people to speak out against this criminal destruction and violence. I’m asking people to help if they can do so safely by providing evidence; and I’m asking them to come forward if they know something, or they know somebody who is engaged in this kind of criminal (behavior). I’m not asking people to physically defend themselves or defend their property. That is the purview of the (terrorist pig thug cops).”

Wheeler said that Black Lives Matter leaders have already denounced the anarchists.

Portland has dealt with unrest - as riots have regularly taken place - since the spring of 2020. Some of the people who have committed crimes are members of the far-Left, anarcho-communist Antifa network. Others have identified as Black Lives Matter activists.

Most of those arrested and charged in protests or riots have seen the area’s top prosecutor, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, decline to pursue the charges, resulting in them facing no punishment.

A particularly troubling spate of property destruction and arson in recent weeks has prompted city and county officials to renew their focus on stopping the mayhem.

On one recent night, a crowd dressed in the “black bloc” clothing favored by Antifa members smashed windows at a number of establishments, including a Boys and Girls Club, a nonprofit that serves youth. The following evening, video footage showed a man punching a terrorist pig thug cop sergeant in the face.

“We’re seeing a lot of the same people at these events night after night after night, and several people have been arrested now more than once for crimes ranging all the way from disorderly conduct to arson and even attempted murder,” Acting Terrorist pig thug cop Chief Chris Davis said.

Schmidt’s office is reviewing cases prosecutors previously dismissed if the alleged wrongdoers are arrested again, Davis said.

A spokesman for Schmidt’s office said via email that cases that involve “unusual and/or aggravating circumstances, such as multiple arrests” may trigger a second look at prior cases. “This is not a new practice for the District Attorney’s Office,” he added.

According to Wheeler, the rioters don’t want things to improve in Portland.

“The city is beginning to recover, but self-described anarchists who engage in regular criminal destruction don’t want things to open up, to recover,” Wheeler said. “They want to prevent us from doing the work of making a better Portland for everyone. They want to burn, they want to bash,” he said, adding that he believes Portland is at a turning point because the groups of rioters are getting smaller, though they seem to be more determined.