In a video posted on Facebook on Wednesday night, Jessie Sponberg, who ran for mayor of Portland in 2016, alluded to the fact that he was at least involved in the incident which ended in someone punching Grant Chisholm, a controversial “street preacher,” at the Portland Airport on Sunday.
“My name is Jessie Sponberg and there is something I need to explain to you guys,” Sponberg said into the camera. “I know exactly what happened and I hope you guys know I would never lie to you about something like this.”
“I support the decision made to neutralize the threat,” Sponberg said, not fully admitting to being the person who punched Chisholm, but instead implying he had direct knowledge of the incident.
However, a fundraiser page, created by Sponberg called “Jessie Sponberg needs help,” reads, “On January 29th, a well-known local journalist and activist acted swiftly to neutralize a violent situation involving white supremacist religious zealots at the Portland Airport.”
In his video, Sponberg said he was at the protest as a journalist, shooting footage, but earlier in the protest he had to stop shooting to “neutralize another situation,” when Chisholm’s group, the Bible Believers, grabbed a person by the hair and threw them to the ground.
“They broke my glasses and they threw my hat off the skybridge,” Sponberg said.
Sponberg said he expects more video of the incident to surface. “It’s gonna show that a crazy situation was quickly diffused in what I consider a relatively noble move,” he said.
“Nobody kicked anybody. There was nothing metallic,” he added, referencing Chisholm assertions that he was punched with something metal and then kicked when he was on the ground.
“It was just some bullies telling lies after they reaped the fruit of their disgusting labor,” said Sponberg.
In his video, Sponberg said he would be going to the police station in the morning. We reached out to him, but have not heard back at this time.
Steve Johnson, spokesperson for the Port of Portland, which is handling this case, said as of Thursday morning, Sponberg hasn’t been arrested.
“We’re still investigating,” he said.
— Lizzy Acker
503-221-8052
lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker
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