Here's how the Portland Provocation might be operating

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1) Import rag tag collections of federal thugs, always from out of town so there are no hometown sympathies.

2) Rag-tag so most won't know each other well, so no coalitions if any of them become disturbed by what is going down.

3) Lots of heavy reminders about secrecy and Federal secrecy acts and penalties. Pump them up with lots of anti-antifa propaganda.

4) Roam them around.

5) Covertly, through back channels and by winks-and-nods, plant agitators from mercenary groups like Erik Prince or trusted militias.

6) Agitators set fires, commit vandalism.

7) Unmarked vehicles roll up, scoop up the plants, and take them away.

8) Elsewhere they are released with a hearty pat on the back.

Result: Violence and a seeming law-and-order response "solving" it. The agitators remain anonymous and are protected from the protesters and from public scrutiny.

This is only speculation on my part, but ... This is tRump's pattern: break something and claim "only I can fix it."

[2naSalit]

1. Thoughts that cross my mind

About this as time goes on, and this is in addition to what you suggest, I wonder how many of them are actually Americans. They are pretty well covered up and if they are Prince's patrols, they may not be speaking because of accents. I have a lot of suspicions about that arm of world militias and I think Prince is the recruiter and founder of isis and other terrorist groups we have an infinite war raging.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. I think they have been told not to speak as part of operational security

I do not subscribe to extreme conspiracy theories claiming Prince created ISIS.

[2naSalit]

3. Fair enough,

that thought does rattles around to the fore on occasion though.

This is not good on any level and the unmarked militia needs to be exposed. I find it alarming that the police association is okay with it. But then, weren't there some stories, recently, about connections between the PDP and RW extremists or was that Seattle?