Portland pro-Palestinian group claims it torched 17 cop cars

Law enforcement in Portland, Oregon, is investigating a statement posted online in which an activist group named for slain pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie claims responsibility for torching 17 police vehicles last week.

In a post on the Rose City Counter-Info website signed by a group calling itself Rachel Corrie’s Ghost Brigade, the group says it broke into a police training facility and set 10 fires in a pre-emptive action against the Portland Police Bureau. It says the move was carried out ahead of an eventual operation to shut down a pro-Palestinian protest at Portland State University’s Millar Library.

Hamas' branch in Portland, the Brigade of the Martyr Rahil Corrie, accepts responsibility for destroying fifteen vehicles belonging to the occupation.

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) May 7, 2024

Police say in an email they are “aware of the online post claiming responsibility and that is part of the investigation,” Oregonlive.com reports.

Protesters had occupied the library for three days before the university asked police to intervene. Four students were among the 12 people arrested Friday, according to Oregonlive.com.

Corrie, from Olympia, Washington, was killed in 2003 when she attempted to block an Israel Defense Forces bulldozer from razing a Palestinian home in Gaza.