Portland’s ‘autonomous zone’ arrestees have charges immediately dropped

Every person arrested at the growing Red House Autonomous Zone (RHAZ) in Portland had their charges immediately dropped by the progressive district attorney.

Radical left-wing activists have been occupying the property known as the “Red House” on North Mississippi Avenue for months to protect squatters who were legally served multiple eviction notices. But a police raid earlier this week led to a series of arrests and acted as the spark for the start of the autonomous zone later in the day.

Alicxandra Blake Lucero, 26, was arrested for interfering with a peace officer, resisting arrest, and second-degree trespassing. All of her charges were quickly dropped by the Multnomah County District Attorney. In August, Lucero was convicted for vandalism-related crimes. She was sentenced after failing to appear in court.

44-year-old transsexual Lester Lou Wrecksie—formerly known as Teresa Lou Gronwoldt—was arrested for second-degree trespassing. He was quickly released without bail and the charge against him was immediately dropped.

Wrecksie was previously arrested at a declared riot on July 1 when Antifa tried to attack the Portland Police Association office and later a nearby police station. Rioters threw large rocks at cops and started fires in the residential area that summer night. His felony riot, second-degree disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest charges were all dropped as well.

On Wrecksie’s Facebook page, he called on others to support “Red House Sovereignty” the day after his arrest. “I'm without a phone/easy access to things currently; but I'm free and defending the land,” Wrecksie wrote. He also claimed that “[p]roperty damage is not violence.”

Charles Ernest Stubbs, 41, was arrested for second-degree trespassing and felony possession of body armor. He was quickly bailed out. Both of his charges were dropped.

“DHS go duck yourselfs [sic] I hope you choke on your own gas you good for nothing swine you pray on the weak and randomly shooting protesters,” Stubbs tweeted on July 23. A day later, he claimed that he was hit with a 40 mm gas canister.

Two of the suspects arrested are part of the Kinney family who defaulted on the house’s loan all the way back in 2018. Michael Paul Jordan Kinney, 30, was arrested for first-degree trespassing. He was quickly released without bail and the single charge against him was dropped. He was previously arrested on Nov. 5 when a large Antifa crowd marched to the home of Portland City Commissioner Dan Ryan and vandalized his residence in retaliation for voting against the proposal to defund police.

His brother, 35-year-old William Kinney, was also arrested this week for first-degree trespassing. He was quickly released without bail and the single charge against him was dropped. He has an extensive criminal history in Multnomah County. In 2007, he was charged with felony possession of cocaine, felony driving while suspended, felony delivery of cocaine and third-degree escape. The latter two charges were dismissed. He also has multiple counts of contempt of court.

Jonathan Lalej, 25, was arrested for second-degree trespassing. He was quickly bailed out and the single charge against him was dropped. Lalej was previously convicted of second-degree criminal mischief in January and sentenced to two years of probation after one felony count of first-degree criminal mischief was dismissed against him in a separate December 2019 case.

Matthew David Stewart, 31, was arrested for second-degree trespassing. He was quickly released without bail and the single charge against him was dropped. Stewart was arrested and charged with second-degree criminal mischief last year. His trial readiness hearing for this case is scheduled for Dec. 31

The following had all these charges dropped:

Ashterot Ember Brimstone, 30, was arrested for first-degree trespassing.

Christopher Marc Wilkins, 43, was arrested for second-degree trespassing.

Emperor Elray, 38, was arrested for first-degree trespassing.

Joshua C. Rodgers, 40, was arrested for second-degree trespassing.

Patrick Sterling Hafer, 24, was arrested for first-degree trespassing.

Brianna Bonhan, 23, was arrested for interfering with a peace officer at the autonomous zone.

Nicholas Totsane Piochei, 31, was arrested for second-degree trespassing and resisting arrest.

Malik Farrakhan, 26, was arrested for interfering with a peace officer and resisting arrest.

Benjamin Einhorn, 32, was arrested for interfering with a peace officer.

Coral Cloutman, 31, was arrested for second-degree disorderly conduct.

Stephen Wiens, 24, was arrested for second-degree disorderly conduct and interfering with a peace officer. He was previously arrested at an Aug. 23 riot when several officers were injured for interfering with a peace officer, resisting arrest, and second-degree disorderly conduct. He was quickly bailed out and all of those charges were dropped.

Marshall Piotcowski, 23 was arrested for second-degree disorderly conduct and interfering with a peace officer.

At the raid on Tuesday morning, local law enforcement recovered a stockpile of guns and weapons. Soon after, Antifa accounts on social media rallied their comrades to retake the space. Authorities were forced to retreat both on-foot and by vehicle. Police have not returned since. The zone has continued to grow with additional barricades. Occupiers have also laid nails and other “booby traps” on the street to stop vehicles from approaching.

By Friday, nearly $300,000 had been raised for the Kinney family on GoFundMe. Separately, it was revealed that the family owns a second home nearby the “Red House” despite continuing to raise funds on CashApp.