In a fiery post that has ignited conservative outrage across social media, independent journalist Nick Sortor unleashed a scathing rebuke against the Portland Police Bureau following his arrest late Thursday night outside a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. Sortor, known for his on-the-ground reporting on stories mainstream outlets often ignore—from the East Palestine train derailment to Maui wildfires—declared, “Hey @PortlandPolice: you made a big freaking mistake,” accusing the department of proving long-standing claims of corruption and undue influence by “violent Antifa thugs who terrorize the streets.” The arrest, captured in viral video footage showing Sortor in handcuffs amid a chaotic protest, came after reports of a physical altercation where he was allegedly targeted by Antifa-affiliated protesters, echoing a similar assault on fellow reporter Katie Daviscourt earlier in the week that left her with a black eye and went unaddressed by local officers.

Sortor’s detention on misdemeanor charges of second-degree disorderly conduct, alongside two Oregon residents, underscores escalating tensions in Portland, where nightly protests against ICE—now exceeding 100 consecutive evenings—have devolved into a lawless zone of bottle rockets, arson, and assaults on federal agents and journalists. He lambasted the police for failing to protect him despite clear evidence of being “jumped” by protesters, with officers reportedly standing by as the violence unfolded, only to swoop in against him. “You thought arresting me would make me shut up and go away. You couldn’t have been more wrong,” Sortor wrote, vowing to amplify the story further in a teaser that has garnered over 32,000 likes and thousands of reposts within hours. This incident arrives amid President Trump’s recent designation of Antifa as a domestic terrorist group and his authorization of federal troops to safeguard ICE facilities, highlighting Portland’s role as a flashpoint in the administration’s crackdown on what it calls “political extremism.”

The backlash has been swift and bipartisan in conservative circles, with Attorney General Pam Bondi personally calling Sortor to confirm a full Department of Justice investigation into the Portland Police Bureau’s handling of the arrest, signaling potential federal repercussions for what Sortor dubs a “wrongful” detainment. Figures like Texas Governor Greg Abbott and influencers such as Benny Johnson decried it as an assault on the First Amendment, demanding his immediate release and decrying the selective enforcement that lets Antifa agitators roam free while targeting journalists. As Sortor was released early Friday without formal charges detailed, his defiant “Stay tuned” hints at forthcoming revelations or legal action, potentially fueling Trump’s narrative of Democratic-run cities as havens for unchecked radicalism. Critics within Portland’s progressive establishment counter that the protests are peaceful responses to aggressive immigration policies, but Sortor’s saga has only intensified calls to “liberate Portland” from what he and his supporters portray as a corrupt alliance between local law enforcement and far-left militants.