‘Antifa fighter’ indicted for assault over Portland violence that savaged man’s scalp

A 23-year-old Portland man has been indicted by a grand jury over his alleged role in violent altercations during protests in June. The Antifa activist was among those who ganged up on a man and split his scalp open, police said.

Gage Halupowski was arrested along with two other protesters in the wake of clashes in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square. On Tuesday, a grand jury indicted him with four criminal charges, including second-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, attempted assault of a public safety officer, and interfering with a peace officer, the Oregonian reported.

Halupowski was allegedly involved in an attack on two people, John Blum and Adam Kelly, during confrontations between right-wing and left-wing protesters. According to a probable cause affidavit, a police officer saw Halupowski run up behind Kelly, who was trying to stop others from beating Blum, and strike him on the top of his head with an expandable baton. The report says that Halupowski then punched another officer’s arm as she was trying to arrest him and ran away, but was later caught by the police.

The moment may have been caught on camera. Footage posted by the Portland Tribune shows several protesters, some wearing masks, attacking Blum, a man with grey hair wearing a backpack. Kelly, a large man with a long beard wearing a black cap, runs to intervene, but is attacked with mace spray, punches and kicks. According to a GoFundMe page created for Kelly, he was left with four major lacerations after the altercation.

Blum was part of a right-wing rally sponsored by the Him Too movement, which purports to protect men from undue accusations of sexual harassment, according to the Washington Times. Another rally by the right-wing group Proud Boys was also scheduled for the same date and place. The attackers reportedly belonged to the radical left-wing movement Antifa.

One of those injured during the clashes in Portland was journalist Andy Ngo, who works for the online magazine Quillette, and was covering protests and counter-protests. He was allegedly targeted by Antifa activists.

The two other people arrested on June 29 are scheduled to appear before court on August 9. They were charged with harassment due to allegedly throwing milkshakes and water on their opponents.

Portland Police is still trying to identify other individuals involved in the violence that occurred on the day.

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