The Disgrace of Portland

If only mobs were allowed to destroy federal property without consequence.

Then, there wouldn’t have to be any dispute over federal agents defending a federal courthouse in Portland, Ore. It could simply be overrun and burned to the ground with no unwelcome resistance.

As it is, Portland’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, who presides over a city that has become a watchword over the years for left-wing thuggery unchecked by municipal authorities, has roused himself to state of high dudgeon — over federal officers trying to counter ongoing assaults on a federal...