91% of Portland protest arrests not being prosecuted January 05 2021 Protesters are 'emboldened,' coalition leader says, despite tough talk from Portland officials including Mayor Ted Wheeler. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has vowed to crack down on "antifa anarchists" after a riot on New Year's Eve, but months of catch-and-release policing has skeptics wondering if anything will change. "Right now there's a lot of people that are emboldened to just do whatever they want," Gabe Johnson, co-founder of the Coalition to Save Portland, told KOIN 6 News. Johnson feels city and county officials have set a precedent that will be hard to reverse, and thinks the mayor's announcement is "just more words."