For months, a volatile standoff has played out outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland, Oregon, and most mainstream media outlets have ignored it.
According to independent journalist Chelly Bouferrache, known to many as the “Honey Badger Mom,” the riots have stretched on for weeks, evolving from large-scale nightly riots to a smaller but persistent core of agitators.
I asked journalist @hunnybadgermom why she keeps going out night after night to cover Antifa riots against ICE in Portland after getting assaulted by militants.
She told me, “When you find a story nobody else is telling, it becomes your story.”
Listen to what happened pic.twitter.com/AOHvoSciYp
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) August 11, 2025
Bouferrache, who has covered Antifa activity since 2017 in cities from Seattle to Los Angeles, was recently assaulted while reporting on the scene. Speaking on The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, she described the changing nature of the protests and why she keeps showing up despite the risks.
“When it first started, there was a very large crowd every night,” Bouferrache said. “They were cutting underground cables, vandalizing, throwing things at officers… tear gas and pepper balls were being used. Now it’s a core group yelling at officers, with occasional arrests.”
My own words about what happened last Saturday night. Best I can remember, how I felt in the middle of it, and what I hope to do next. I’ve appreciated all of your kind messages and prayers and help. I don’t expect much in the way of justice. Would be nice if that happened but… pic.twitter.com/d6Ii32WE19
— HoneyBadgerMom (@hunnybadgermom) August 5, 2025
She believes that some of those getting arrested are trying to do so intentionally. “I can tell some of them are getting arrested on purpose,” she explained, recalling two protesters who knowingly entered the driveway to provoke arrest.
Bouferrache and fellow independent journalist Katie Daviscourt are often the only reporters on the ground at the protests.
“When you find a story nobody else is telling, it becomes your story,” she said. “Katie and I need to have each other’s backs, we don’t even work for the same publication, but there’s safety in numbers.”
Breaking — Independent photojournalist Chelly Bouferrache (@hunnybadgermom) was brutally assaulted by a black bloc Antifa militant outside the ICE facility in Portland.
She was mobbed by an unruly crowd of protesters, resulting in Bouferrache deploying mace in self-defense.
The… pic.twitter.com/MXH4Ixh1qT
— Katie Daviscourt 📸 (@KatieDaviscourt) August 3, 2025
Despite the Trump administration’s frequent statements about cracking down on Antifa activity and comments from former ICE Director Tom Homan about taking action, Bouferrache says she hasn’t seen that translate into visible federal intervention in Portland.
“I know the Trump administration has made many comments, and Tom Homan has talked about coming out or taking more action,” she said. “But I haven’t really seen it.”
I asked @RealTomHoman if federal action is being considered in Portland. ANTIFA besieged a federal building there for over a month and are attacking journalists on the ground.
"We'll see about that. I am going to Portland." pic.twitter.com/M2uruTx4w1
— Wid Lyman (@Wid_Lyman) August 6, 2025
She and Daviscourt have repeatedly tried to get information from officials about possible federal moves but have heard nothing back. Hoffman compared it to “launching a flare from the Titanic. You send it up, but nobody’s out there.”
The Post Millennial’s Katie Daviscourt, along with journalist Andy Ngo, claim to have identified the suspect who allegedly assaulted Bouferrache as 42-year-old Nicole Renee Middleton.
Breaking: My colleague @MrAndyNgo and I have identified the suspect who allegedly assaulted @hunnybadgermom as Nicole Renee Middleton.
Middleton, born 1982, has a long history of involvement with Rose City Antifa.
She has been a frequent protester outside the ICE facility in… https://t.co/3gOeVi7Yvw pic.twitter.com/3zUTVD1YQB
— Katie Daviscourt 📸 (@KatieDaviscourt) August 5, 2025
Middleton allegedly has a long history of involvement with Rose City Antifa and has been a frequent protester outside the Portland ICE facility, reportedly taking on a leadership and organizer role in the Antifa occupation.
Middleton then went on to allegedly assault Bouferrache after Bouferrache allegedly deployed mace in an act of self-defense.
The macing occurred over allegations with supporting video evidence that Middleton had been harassing and menacing Bouferrache.
pic.twitter.com/eGw2Ru8nb7— Katie Daviscourt 📸 (@KatieDaviscourt) August 5, 2025
The assault occurred after Bouferrache allegedly deployed mace in an act of self-defense. Video evidence and witness statements indicate Middleton had been harassing and menacing Bouferrache before the incident.
Witnesses say Middleton violently tackled Bouferrache to the ground, delivering repeated punches before fleeing with the help of fellow Antifa members to avoid arrest. Daviscourt pursued the group while filming, capturing video of Middleton escaping in a getaway car.
As I followed the group, I captured Middleton escaping in a getaway car.
The getaway car belongs to violent convicted assaulter John Hacker, who Middleton was communicating with on federal property earlier in the evening. https://t.co/EQ0akBWlNX pic.twitter.com/oorqWBuY0Z
— Katie Daviscourt 📸 (@KatieDaviscourt) August 5, 2025
According to Daviscourt, that vehicle is registered to John Hacker, a violent convicted assaulter and known Antifa affiliate, with whom Middleton was reportedly seen communicating earlier that evening on federal property.
On August 3, 2025, I captured video of Middleton sitting on federal property while communicating with Chief Antifa doxxer, John Colin Hacker, outside the ICE facility.
This video was taken at 12:33 am. pic.twitter.com/HO6vum2tMc
— Katie Daviscourt 📸 (@KatieDaviscourt) August 5, 2025
Daviscourt reported that a witness confirmed that they saw Middleton unmasked the night of the attack. After being presented with both photo and video evidence, the witness identified Middleton as the suspect.
A witness saw Middleton unmasked on the night of the attack on Bouferrache.
The witness confirmed to me that Middleton was the suspect they saw after video and photo evidence was presented to them. pic.twitter.com/CfRlbnx428
— Katie Daviscourt 📸 (@KatieDaviscourt) August 5, 2025
As for who’s showing up night after night, Bouferrache says it’s a mix, from high school students and single-issue immigration activists to hardened Antifa operatives.
“There’s a core group in black bloc who are definitely the Antifa crowd. The night I was attacked, some very old-school people from the past showed up, the ones who do the most violence, cutting cables and doing the wilder stuff.”
And while she sees many protesters as dangerous, she can’t help but add a jab about their day jobs.
“I guess it just depends on their barista schedule at whatever coffee shop they’re working for, when they can come out or not,” she quipped.
Bouferrache says she’ll keep showing up until the story is told, even if she’s one of the last journalists left covering it.
