Portland mayor: Violence, criminal destruction is 'unacceptable'

PORTLAND, Ore. — Mayor Ted Wheeler says he is committed to finding the 'small groups' of people responsible for the criminal activity in Portland over the past seven months.

During a one-on-one interview with the mayor, he explained that these groups of people are, "More nimble. They hit more quickly and then they leave." He added that these groups have changed their tactics, which makes them harder to find.

This criminal activity the mayor is referring to is separate from the peaceful protests, but it usually happens at the same time. For more than 100 days, the city of Portland saw nightly unrest. Many protests devolved into unlawful assemblies and riots. Anarchists broke into buildings. Rioters smashed business windows and set fires in the streets. Mayor Wheeler says the criminal groups act similar to a 'flash mob.'

RELATED: Windows broken, buildings vandalized during unlawful assembly in downtown Portland

Their strategies are evolving. Our strategies need to evolve as well," Mayor Wheeler said.

The nightly unrest thrust Portland into the national spotlight in 2020. President Trump repeatedly berated the city's response.

On Tuesday, the president defended his remarks at the rally before the U.S. Capitol insurrection. During that rally he repeated many false claims that the election was stolen and told his supporters, "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore."

He says his remarks have been deemed appropriate, contrary, to what he says other leaders said about the unrest in the Pacific Northwest this summer.

"The horrible riots in Portland and Seattle and various other -- other places, that was a real problem, what they said," President Trump said before taking off for Texas on Tuesday.

When KATU asked Mayor Wheeler if the local unrest had an influence on a national level -- if the rioters here possibly influenced others elsewhere to act out, he said, "Nobody gets to point to somebody else breaking the law and say 'they broke the law therefore I can break the law.' That’s not how it works. We're adults here."

Mayor Wheeler went on to say everyone needs to denounce this type of violence. "Everybody needs to say, 'Look I don’t care if you’re on the political left or the political right, if you’re engaged in acts of violence or criminal destruction that is unacceptable.'"

WEB EXTRA: Watch full interview with Portland mayor on ongoing vandalism, U.S. Capitol riots

The mayor added that he's also responsible for making sure the criminals are held accountable, and that's what he's trying to ensure happens by working closely with local law enforcement and the District Attorney's office.