October 12, 2020
PORTLAND, Ore. – Today, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced that Brandon Bartells is charged with damaging a historic statue in downtown Portland during a riot.
Bartells is accused of one count of criminal mischief in the first degree and one count of riot.
According to court documents, on Sunday night, police received photos of the suspect vehicle used to topple the statue of President Theodore Roosevelt. Police identified Bartells as the driver of the van.
When police stopped the van near the intersection of Southwest 2nd Avenue and Southwest Ash Street, they located Bartells in the driver’s seat and five other people inside, according to court documents.
During the investigation, law enforcement saw Bartells driving a van with chains and straps wrapped around the statue of President Roosevelt. Law enforcement saw Bartells drive the van forward which caused the Roosevelt statue to fall to the ground, according to court documents.
The City of Portland reported the damage to the Roosevelt statue will cost approximately $20,000 to repair and the damage to the Lincoln statue will cost approximately $10,000 to repair.
According to court documents, Bartells is a suspect in the toppling of President Lincoln’s statue but that investigation remains ongoing.
No additional information can be released by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office at this time.
A charging document is only an accusation of a crime. Bartells is innocent unless and until proven guilty.
#MCDA#
Media Contact:
Brent Weisberg, Communications Director
Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office
Email: Brent.Weisberg@nullmcda.us