Rantz: Portland school flees ‘chemical weapons’—but it’s Antifa chaos, not ICE, that’s to blame

Only in Portland can violent left-wing agitators wreak havoc outside a federal building and somehow it’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that gets blamed. That’s the narrative being peddled by administrators at The Cottonwood School, a public charter in southwest Portland, who are relocating and theatrically pointing fingers at ICE agents.

According to People Magazine, Cottonwood is making an “emergency move” because ICE supposedly endangered students by using “chemical weapons” against “protesters.” The interim director, Laura Cartwright, told reporters that tear gas wafted near the campus, “munitions” were found on the playground, and children were exposed to “toxic” conditions.

What People and Cartwright don’t bother to clarify: those “protesters” are not singing kumbaya. They’re Antifa-linked activists staging violent demonstrations outside an ICE facility.

Shameful claim by school, while left-wing media amplifies smears

This is Portland — where for years anarchists have vandalized businesses, set fires, and assaulted police officers with bricks, frozen water bottles, and commercial-grade fireworks. When federal officers respond with crowd control measures, it’s not out of some cartoon villain cruelty—it’s to restore order and protect federal property. The fact that tear gas drifts onto a nearby campus isn’t proof that ICE is reckless; it’s proof that Antifa’s antics force officers to use defensive measures in the first place.

But the Cottonwood School won’t say that. Instead, they parrot activist talking points, which sounds more like war propaganda than reality. Tear gas is a standard non-lethal crowd dispersal tool used by police departments nationwide when rioters refuse to disperse. The implication that ICE is intentionally gassing children is absurd, insulting, and utterly irresponsible.

The framing from People Magazine is just as bad. Their write-up uncritically amplifies Cottonwood’s claims while painting ICE as the dangerous actor. Not a single mention of Antifa violence. Not a single acknowledgment that the so-called “protesters” have a documented history of attacking officers, terrorizing neighborhoods, and turning downtown Portland into a war zone.

Naturally, Rolling Stone framed it as ICE attacking kids. The media refuses to call rioters what they are because it undermines their preferred narrative of “peaceful demonstrators” oppressed by federal jackboots.

WATCH: On June 18, Portland rioters violently targeted federal law enforcement— 250 rioters launched fireworks, shined lasers in officers’ eyes to temporarily blind them.

President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill will provide our officers with the support needed to protect them from… pic.twitter.com/e2axoNgoMU

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) June 20, 2025

Context matters

Meanwhile, Cottonwood administrators wring their hands about “munitions” found on the playground. Let’s be clear: those munitions aren’t fired into the air for sport. They’re a direct response to violent agitators who refuse to leave federal officers alone. If administrators are truly worried about student safety, their ire should be directed at the Antifa mob that provoked ICE in the first place—not the men and women sworn to uphold the law.

What Cottonwood is really doing is political theater. By announcing an “emergency move” and blaming ICE for “chemical weapons,” they earn plaudits from Portland’s activist class and sympathetic coverage from the national press. It’s not about the kids. It’s about scoring points in a long-running ideological war against immigration enforcement.

ICE didn’t create this problem. Antifa did. Until Portland schools and the media admit that simple truth, they’ll continue enabling the very extremists putting communities in danger.

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