In this interview segment, Dennis Prager questions documentary filmmaker Ami Horowitz about his recent on‑the‑ground reporting in Portland. Horowitz describes nightly protests that swell to 3,000‑4,000 participants, of which several hundred he characterizes as rioters using incendiary devices, Molotov cocktails, and truncheons to attack a federal courthouse. He argues that the mainstream media deliberately downplays the violence, labeling the gatherings as "peaceful" and thereby enabling the rioters. Horowitz recounts being tear‑gassed and pepper‑sprayed by federal officers, claims the police only intervene when a building is in danger, and criticizes the media for turning cameras off during the most violent moments. He mentions that he produced a full video of his experience, which is hosted on DennisPrager.com. The conversation highlights Horowitz’s perception of media malpractice, the scale and intensity of the protests, and his personal victimization during the events.
So what took you to Portland?
Oh, you know, just normal vacation, nothing newsworthy, nothing really important to report. Just wanted to kind of hang out and see what's going on.
Ah, so amazing that you picked that place. Is there a lot of violence there?
You know, I gotta tell you what's so amazing about this. The media's willful distortion of the agenda and the behavior of the crowd has crossed into journalistic malpractice. I think it's I don't know the way to describe it. They are describing these people as peaceful, as fun-loving, as having a great old time. It is, you know, look, when you get to Portland, it looks really normal in the daytime, other than the fact that it's always, you know, crime-ridden and full of homeless people. But other than that, it looks like a normal Portland day. Then when you hit 9 o'clock, this one 5-square, 5-square street area just erupts in insanity and violence. And what you have there there are, by the way, it's a massive protest. You're talking about 3,000, 4,000 people a night who will be going there. And within that 3,000, 4,000 people, you have several, not a few, not a few dozen, several hundred actual rioters who are attacking a federal court building with incendiary devices, lighting it on fire, attacking it with truncheons. And with pipes and with Molotov cocktails. And, and you then have the other 3,500 people who are cheering them on. Okay. And this is the point I keep trying to make when I go to these protests and the people say, hey, look, it's, it's mostly peaceful. By the way, term I hate more than anything else. It gets me going more than anything else. It's got most of the people that are peaceful. You turn the line from being a peaceful protester to being an enabler of violence. If you are cheering the rioters on, I didn't see a single person trying to pull one of these guys back or yell, hey guys, don't do this. And even worse, I don't know if it's worse, but certainly as bad is there's, you know, there's tons of press there and most of the cameras are down when they, when, when the rioters are doing their thing. And then when the police come out and that's when the cameras go up. And it's also this bizarre notion that these federal officers are roaming the streets of Portland, disappearing people. Is nonsense. They are not even on the street. Frankly, I would argue they are not taking enough of a proactive position on this thing. But they only come out when the actual building is in danger of burning down. And then they use what I use as humane methods, and I can say that because I was the victim, and I am not using victim in quotes, but I was tear gassed and pepper sprayed because, look, deservedly, I was there. I was there in the area with the rioters. So obviously they're, they're, they're firing their tear gas canisters at anybody they think might be a danger and it pushes people back. So this whole thing is the perception and the way the media is portraying this, Dennis, is driving me crazy. I don't know what to do about it.
They're really the— it is the lying media. Uh, it's, it's what you just reported is very distressing. So why do they— I'm curious, why do they not do this during the day?
Who knows what is in the mind of a, uh, of a, of one of these, uh, you know, animals, one of these, uh—
Also, did you, did you get to speak to any of them?
I did. So yeah, I did a whole video on it, um, and I spoke to a lot of them. I spoke, I spoke to a, to a bunch of them until I got recognized And, uh, and then I was—
hold it there. Now I'm very curious. I mean, I'm curious the whole time. His video is up at DennisPrager.com, by the way, from Portland.
