Conservative activist Nick Sortor has condemned Portland, Oregon, Police Chief Bob Day, branding him “Chief Braindead,” after a disorderly conduct charge was dropped against him on Monday following an altercation during an anti-ICE protest in the city on Thursday night.
Prosecutors have now dropped a second-degree disorderly conduct charge against Sortor following his arrest. The conservative commentator, who has over 1.2 million followers on X, has alleged he was repeatedly assaulted at the demonstration.
Newsweek contacted Sortor and his attorney via X direct message and telephone and voicemail message on Tuesday outside of regular office hours—the Portland Police Department was also contacted by phone outside of regular hours.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump has described Portland in Oregon as “war-ravaged” and attempted to deploy National Guard troops to the Democrat-run city, though this was blocked by U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut via a temporary restraining order.
The Portland Police Department has come under criticism from conservatives over its handling of a series of anti-ICE demonstrations in the city and the arrest of Sortor only intensified this, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt describing it as “extremely troubling.”
What To Know
Speaking to Fox about the decision to drop the charge, Sortor said: “I think it was a smart move because all of the evidence was in my favor. There was no evidence against me at any time. Everybody there has a camera for the most part at these demonstrations…and all of those videos that came out showed that I was the victim.
“I was the one that was jumped, I was the one that was thrown into a hole, I was the one that was punched, I didn’t punch anybody, I didn’t break anybody’s camera. My crime simply was filming in public, filming people that don’t believe in First Amendment rights for conservatives.”
Sortor added: “I shouldn’t have the chief of police on TV slandering me during the day. Instead, he should be focused on pulling the rot out of his police department.” He shared the video on his X account where he called Day “Chief Braindead Bob of Portland” in a post that received over 1 million views on the platform.
According to police Sortor was one of three people arrested for second-degree disorderly conduct on October 2 after a confrontation broke out during an anti-ICE demonstration in Portland at around 11:20 p.m.
Responding to conservative criticism following Sortor’s arrest on Friday, Day told reporters: “The irony here is we were condemned in 2020 for our approach towards the left, and now we’re being condemned in 2025 for our approach to the right. So, I would say we’ve landed right in the middle of the fairway.”
Speaking to Fox, Sortor’s attorney D. Angus Lee said it was “99 percent certain” that they would be suing the Portland Police Department.
On Monday night, Sortor attended another anti-ICE protest in Portland and shared footage from the event showing a group of counterprotesters, holding American flags, rescuing a U.S. flag that had been set on fire by demonstrators.
What People Are Saying
In a letter to Chief Bob Day, Nick Sortor’s attorney said: “The decision to make this arrest does not appear to have been made by a line officer, but rather by or at the direction of a member of the command staff and/or a supervising officer. Such an arrest is unconstitutional and deeply troubling. Even more concerning, this incident appears to be part of a larger pattern and practice within the Portland Police Bureau of suppressing and silencing conservative media and political activity.”
On X, Nancy Rommelmann, a reporter who writes for Reason magazine, wrote: “If Nick Sortor is a journalist, I’m the queen of England. He’s a provocateur with an apparent line to the White House.”
What Happens Next
The situation in Portland is likely to continue receiving national media attention as the Trump administration seeks to overturn a court injunction preventing it from deploying National Guard troops to the city against the wishes of its mayor.
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