Police Informant Active in the Portland Area

On the 26th of December 2017 an article titled What It’s Like to Betray Antifa to the Cops—and Get Caught was published on the Williamette Week (WW) website. Its a short account and interview of Tan a twenty year old activist and police informant.

"When I saw that Trump just got elected," Tan recalls, "I was saying this is going to be a police state, there's going to be violence against people of color, there are going to be mass deportations."
Tan soon started working in the medic tents at Portland protests, bandaging cuts, washing pepper spray from protesters' eyes and treating minor burns from fireworks thrown at police.

Tan also became a police informant.

In June, Tan met Portland police Sgt. Jeff Niiya at a small protest. Niiya frequently patrols protests. They started chatting, and Niiya gave Tan his business card.
It took only a day for Tan to become an informant. Tan texted Niiya—and began sharing details of Antifa's marching routes during protests. For Tan, it made sense to work with police, to make sure Antifa medics weren't arrested, swept up in kettles or moved by officers. At the same time, Tan never told other protesters about the conversations with Niiya.

On Oct. 18, Tan's double identity was exposed.
One of Tan's friends found four months of texts between Tan and the cops. The friend took screen shots—which were plastered across Facebook alongside warnings to stay away from the police informant.

Specifically Tan describes passing on information of ANTIFA marches to the police for a period of four months, though Rose City ANTIFA the group identified has taken issue with the article for implying that Tan was a member of their group and had leaked important information on their activities.

The group sent a statement to the WW but apart from the use of the word "Infiltrator" the statement was unused. They have instead released this clarification on their facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/sometimesantisocialalwaysantifascist/posts/526637697703000

"Describing Tan as having "participated" in our group is incorrect. Our group is a well-vetted collective of anti-fascist activists. Tan has never been part of that collective.
One aspect of our collective's anti-fascist activism is staging events. Many people outside of our immediate group show up at our events, which are generally open to the public. Riot cops, in full uniform, come to
our events whether we like it or not.
The presence of police and their agents at our events is a serious concern, just as it is at all protests. It serves to intimidate activists, and repress those fighting for justice. For people protesting in this day and age, the presence of law enforcement and malicious agents of all kinds is now accepted only in the form of a risk that cannot be avoided. As always, we encourage activists to seek out good security culture, and organize only with those they know and trust.

So the information presented in the WW article shouldn't be taken at face value. Regardless Tan did establish a relationship with the Portland Police department and did give information of some kind to them about the activities of protestors in the area. In addition the article ends with an unrepentant Tan stating they wish to move on and become active in activist circles elsewhere,

What will you do now that you can't go back to the Portland protest scene?

If I ever do activism again, maybe I'll go to Berkeley. I have been thinking about trying to go down there and see what the activism is like there, because that's where all the activism started pretty much. Or even Seattle—and Seattle is not that far away from here.

So Tan remains a potential threat to others.