Suspects accused of toppling a statue and hitting a cop on head with bottle indicted by Portland grand jury

A grand jury last week indicted Minira Snead-Alsaud, 20, and Brandon Paul Bartells, 38.

Snead-Alsaud was indicted on charges of felony rioting and attempted assault of a public safety officer. On May 30, 2020, Snead-Alsaud was allegedly part of a mob of BLM-Antifa rioters who vandalized and looted downtown businesses for approximately five hours. She is accused of trying to incite others to violence, assaulting police officers, and specifically, striking a deputy on the head with a bottle.

Snead-Alsaud was originally arrested at the time alongside with almost 50 others but she was quickly released without bail. The case was closed in August 2020 but was reinstated this year after law enforcement provided additional evidence to the district attorney’s office.

Bartells, a far-left activist from Ocean Shores, Wash., who was also arrested at a riot in Kenosha, Wisc., was indicted on felony riot and felony criminal mischief charges. On Oct. 11, 2020, an armed group of around 250 rioters gathered in downtown Portland where they proceeded to topple statues and vandalize and loot a nearby museum. Last week’s grand jury in Portland saw evidence that over $10,000 in damages were done to city property. Police say Bartells was the driver of the van that assisted in toppling a statue of President Theodore Roosevelt with chains and straps.

Bartells was originally arrested for felony first-degree criminal mischief and reckless endangering of another person, but the latter charge was dismissed. Like Snead-Alsaud, Bartells was quickly released without bail at the time.

The state is seeking a harsher sentence against Bartells because he failed to appear at a previous hearing.

A statue of President Abraham Lincoln was also toppled that night and the investigation remains ongoing, according to district attorney spokesman Brent Weisberg.

In addition, rioters also fired shots into a cafe that night. The restaurant had been placed on an Antifa list of “pro-police” businesses. An Indiana man was arrested over the shooting but court records show that all charges against him were dismissed last month.

The district attorney’s office said it will continue to prosecute past riot cases based on referred police reports.