https://archive.ph/F0Sji https://thepostmillennial.com/who-is-the-blm-leader-charged-over-attempted-murder-of-police-in-portland

Apr 10, 2021 6:53 PM EST

Who is the BLM leader charged with attempted murder of police in Portland?

A grand jury in Multnomah County, Ore. has indicted an Indianapolis man who allegedly traveled to Portland to try and kill police using firebombs at riots last year.

Andy Ngo and Mia Cathell The Post Millennial

April 10, 2021 6:53 PM

A grand jury in Multnomah County, Ore. has indicted an Indianapolis man who allegedly traveled to Portland to try and kill police using firebombs at riots last year. Malik Fard Muhammed, 24, is facing 28 charges that includes first and second-degree attempted murder, attempted aggravated murder, unlawful manufacture of a destructive device and unlawful use of a weapon. But who is the Black Lives Matter leader and attempted murder suspect who has scrubbed his social media posts?

One of the loudest defenders of Muhammed following his indictment is the Portland chapter of the Youth Liberation Front, an antifa group that organized months of violent, deadly rioting after George Floyd’s death. On Twitter, they’re discussing among their members and followers how best to help and fund Muhammed, who is currently held at the Marion County Jail in Indiana.

According to the affidavit, Muhammed "traveled to the Portland Metro Area for the specific purpose of engaging in the multiple criminal episodes and behavior that this case is based upon." Those criminal episodes include throwing homemade explosive devices at police, rioting and property destruction at antifa protests from September through October 2020.

Though previously unknown in the Pacific Northwest, Muhammed gained a reputation as a self-styled BLM leader in Indiana. Like other Antifa and BLM protesters charged with violent crimes, he’s ex-military, having served in the U.S. Army for a time before being discharged.

At least one of those jugs McGuire allegedly purchased with Muhammed was later filled with a flammable chemical and stuffed with a rag before being lit and thrown at officers at a riot in southeast Portland on Sept. 21. The bottle extinguished before exploding and was a key source of evidence. Two days later, a homemade explosive made with a similar yellow glass jug was hurled—and exploded—at police outside the Justice Center by a suspect accused of being Muhammed.

Then on Oct. 11, Muhammed allegedly returned to downtown Portland to participate in a BLM-Antifa "Day of Rage" event where rioters tore down statues of Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, looted a museum, attacked a campus police office at Portland State University and vandalized numerous businesses using weapons. The Heroes American Cafe, a business put on an Antifa hit-list on social media, was also shot at with several rounds from a gun.

According to the affidavit, plain-clothes FBI agents observed a suspect they say is Muhammed using a metal baton to smash out windows at multiple buildings. He was arrested later that night after fleeing on foot from police. Upon arrest, he was found carrying a loaded pistol magazine. Portland Police recovered a matching handgun that had been discarded nearby. The pistol and magazine contained 30 bullets.

Muhammed was charged at the time with unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a loaded firearm in public, six counts of felony first-degree criminal mischief and felony riot. He was bailed out quickly. Those charges were all dismissed before the case was reinstated after he was identified as the suspect who threw molotov cocktails at police following investigative assistance from the FBI and the ATF over a period of six months.

Muhammed was arrested last week without incident in Indiana. He is booked at Marion County Jail and is awaiting extradition to Oregon.