Warning: this is shocking content.
A U.S. Attorney announced on Tuesday that both federal and state authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding a viral video, which showed that a white man was kicked unconscious after crashing his truck near a Black Lives Matter rally in Downtown Portland on Sunday.
Investigators are currently searching for 25-year-old Marquise Love, who has been identified as the person who kicked the Adam Haner in the head. Video shows that the kick immediately knocked Haner unconscious. He was bleeding from his head.
Love, arrested several times since 2012, reportedly posted on Snapchat after the assault, saying “Might go to jail for murder tonight for a racist when all I did was fight him look it up on Twitter put money on my books and come see me.”
“Like many Oregonians, I was sickened by the video circulating online showing a man being pulled from his truck in Downtown Portland and beaten and kicked until he lies on the pavement unconscious. While the circumstances leading up to this brutal assault are still under state and federal review, I must condemn, in the strongest possible terms, this depraved violence,” U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams said. “We must all continue to work together to achieve peace in the streets of Portland. If we are not successful, I fear one day soon we will wake up to news that a Portlander has been killed. We cannot let this happen.”
Marquise Love (L), Adam Haner (R)
Haner was reportedly hospitalized, but has since been released. He is said to be recovering. Brian Haner said in a GoFundMe campaign, which has raised more than $100,000, that his younger brother Adam was “trying to help someone and was then attacked”:
I’m Brian Haner. Just moved to Apache Junction AZ two weeks ago. Adam Haner’s is my little brother. He’s living in Portland, I was right across the river from him in Vancouver WA before I moved. Hoping this money will help Adam get things together for his life after the attack he suffered. I know he will need repairs, or to replace the truck that was wrecked. He is going to need time to recover from his injuries as well. Plus replace things that where stolen from his pick-up that night, on Aug 16th. which happens to be my birthday. His girlfriend had some help getting his truck towed home while he slept tonight, Aug 17th. Maybe he will use some of this money to move out of Portland, or just use it to move up. I really don’t care what he uses it for. He would give the shirt off his back to help any of the people around him, and he really didn’t deserve what happened to him in Portland. I’ll supply updates here as I can, and may update the ‘story’ on the [GoFundMe] to better detail how this will all get handled. I really through this up in a hurry, because I was getting so many messages to start the GFM for him. After spending most of my day looking for information on what happened to him, and letting my mom and family know he was alive and home, I started replying to all the DM’s and messages on social media, and started this GFM and replied to as many massages as I could. I currently have enough free time in Arizona to mostly keep up with something this demanding. So hopefully, I’ll get to reply to all of you that have question, want proof it’s really for Adam, and get you updates as there is information available. Huge Thank You to everyone showing him support. This is going to be an awakening experience for my brother in so many ways. He’s always been cynical about the world at large, but has always been someone willing to step up and speak up to help someone being treated unfairly.
Authorities are investigating the events the preceded the assault. It’s unclear why Haner crashed his truck. The Oregonian pointed to a couple of theories:
Multiple social media posts allege that someone had been driving erratically downtown and had tried to run over protesters several times, though those accounts could not be independently verified.Shortly before the attack, protesters had surrounded Haner’s truck near a 7-Eleven a few blocks away at Southwest Fourth Avenue and Taylor Street, video shows. Police said Haner may have been trying to help someone who had their things stolen outside the convenience store. Police said they don’t know who that person is and that investigators are still trying to find them.
“On August 16, 2020 at 10:27 p.m., Portland Police officers responded to an accident call at the intersection of Southwest Taylor Street and Broadway. The call read that ‘protestors chased a white Ford 4×4, which has crashed’ at that location and ‘protestors drug him out of car,'” police said. “Another witness called prior to police arrival and reported that 9-10 people were ‘beating the guy.'”
“Investigators are still trying to locate a transgender female who had some of her things stolen in the area of Southwest Taylor and 4th Ave, the location where this incident began,” police continued. “That person has not been contacted and their identity is unknown. Investigators would like to speak to this person.”
The video showed that Haner was then kicked in the head from behind as he sat in the street.
Star Protection Agency, a privately-owned security company, said in a press release that Love worked for the company from January to March 2020. The company said it was responding because the person who assaulted Haner, who was wearing a “SECURITY” vest at the time, had been linked to Star Protection in the press.
“On 08/17/2020, several outlets incorrectly identified the suspect of a violent assault in Portland as an employee of Star Protection Agency. Since these reports emerged we have received many questions about this individual and his association with Star Protection,” COO Bryan Kettler said. “The individual named in these stories was temporarily employed by Star Protection as an unarmed security officer from January to March of 2020. Star Protection has not engaged this individual in any capacity since that time.”
“Upon his exiting the company Star Protection collected all issued equipment from this individual. The black ‘tactical vest’ with security patches, black t-shirt, black pans, and white high-top shoes seen in the video are not part of any uniform issued or authorized by Star Protection. Any use of Star Protection imaging or logos in connection with this individual is unfortunate and unauthorized,” Kettler went on. “Star Protection remains committed to our communities and the patrons of the properties we protect.”
[Image via Portland Police Bureau, The Oregonian/screengrab]