Portland Protester Charged With Arson After Allegedly Launching Explosive at Federal Courthouse

Authorities announced on July 31 that an 18-year-old Portland man was charged with arson after footage from a protest on Wednesday, July 28, allegedly shows him launching a device toward the Hatfield Federal Courthouse, causing an explosion.

This footage shows an explosion behind a wire gate surrounding the courthouse on Wednesday. “What the f***?” an onlooker comments. “I don’t know what that was,” they can be heard saying.

This clip is part of a four-hour Twitch live stream, that shows the protests in Portland, including several clashes with federal officers.

In a statement, the Oregon Department of Justice identified 18-year-old Gabriel Agard-Berryhill as the suspect. He was charged “by criminal complaint with using fire to maliciously damage the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in downtown Portland on July 28, 2020,” the release said.

Agard-Berryhill was identified after an extensive review of social media posts showing the incident on Wednesday, the statement said. It said Agard-Berryhill was observed wearing a green colored vest, camouflage pants, and a mask. Investigators were able to identify and track down Agard-Berryhill based on an online review of the vest he was wearing, seemingly written by his grandfather.

“Investigators also found a post on Twitter depicting a product review for the vest. The review included a photo of a person wearing the vest who matched the description of the person seen throwing the explosive device. The review states ‘I got this [vest] for my grandson who’s a protestor [sic] downtown, he uses it every night and says its [sic] does the job.’ Investigators later found the same photo on a Facebook page and, using law enforcement databases, were able to positively identify Agard-Berryhill,” the release said.

Agard-Berryhill appeared in court on Friday, and was ordered released from custody pending further court proceedings Credit: radarbeam via Storyful