By MARISSA J. LANG | The Washington Post | Published: January 2, 2021 WASHINGTON — For years, West Coast cities have borne the brunt of violent confrontations between far-right extremists and counterprotesters who come to meet them. Brawls broke out in Berkeley, Calif. White-supremacist rallies in Sacramento ended in bloodshed. Violent clashes have become common in Portland, Ore., where gunfire broke out at demonstrations over the summer. Demonstrators in Olympia, Wash., recently fired weapons into a crowd, wounding at least one person. Up and down the western United States, protests have devolved into violent clashes replete with thrown rocks, exploding fireworks and streams of caustic chemicals.