Portland man sentenced in attack near summer protest

Associated Press

PORTLAND – A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for beating the driver of a truck that crashed near an August protest in downtown Portland. The incident inflamed tensions that were already high over near-nightly racial justice protests and drew even more national attention to the city.

Marquise Love pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and felony riot and was sentenced Monday, according to a statement from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.

Love was captured on video chasing the truck’s driver and knocking him unconscious on Aug. 16 as a protest unfolded nearby. The video of the attack circulated widely online but it’s still unclear exactly what led up to the incident.

Love was identified by police and turned himself in several days after the attack. He has since expressed “genuine remorse” and apologized to victim Adam Haner, according to prosecutor Mike Schmidt. Haner agreed to the terms of Love’s plea deal, Schmidt said.

“The video of this assault is violent and shocking. It outraged our community and nation. We are fortunate that the victim’s injuries were not as severe as it first appeared they may have been,” Schmidt said. “This is a proper resolution. Marquise Love is accepting responsibility for his actions and the punishment.”

Haner spent days in the hospital recovering and still suffers from neck pain and numbness in his right arm, according to a video he posted on a fundraising page last month.

The events that led up to the beating are still unclear.

Police have said Haner may have been trying to help someone who had some possessions stolen.

The Oregonian reported a few days after the attack that video showed protesters surrounding Haner’s truck as it sat outside a 7-Eleven.

On a fundraising page for his brother’s medical bills, Brian Haner said his brother “was trying to help someone and was then attacked.”