You've got to be fucking kidding me!!!

"Schmidt announced at a Tuesday press conference that he is only pressing charges against protesters arrested for assault, theft, or property damage. That means he'll be dropping lesser charges that the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) often arrests protesters for, such as rioting, disorderly conduct, and "interfering with a peace officer"—a catch-all term for not following orders or bothering a cop. The policy will apply to all protest charges dating back to May 29, when the protests began.

"If we leverage the full force of the criminal justice system on individuals who are peacefully protesting and demanding to be heard, we will cause irreparable harm to them individually and to our society," Schmidt said in a prepared statement. "The prosecution of people exercising their rights to free speech and assembly in a non-violent manner takes away from the limited resources that we have to prosecute serious crimes and to assist crime victims."