The woman in the bright bird costume who became a viral flashpoint outside Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement building is walking away a free woman.
On Wednesday, a Portland jury acquitted 47-year-old Angella Lynn Davis of all counts after a three-day trial over a chaotic October confrontation outside the ICE facility. Davis had been charged with second-degree disorderly conduct and offensive physical contact. Jurors spent the week sorting through clashing video clips and sharply different witness accounts from the long-running protest site near the building.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Kevin Demer told jurors that prosecutors believed Davis grabbed a stick and joined a group that closed in on conservative influencer Nick Sortor. In video shown in court, a woman in a feathered outfit can be seen moving with the crowd as Sortor tumbles to the pavement. As reported by Tampa Free Press, the defense countered that Sortor had come to Portland to stir up demonstrators, arguing jurors could not honestly say the state had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Video, court filings and the bird costume
Court filings paint a messy scene on the street: Sortor moving through a tight crowd, protesters shoving back as he films, and a bird-costumed figure reportedly chasing him while swinging a stick. As reported by KATU, probable-cause documents and witness statements place much of the action on South Moody Avenue near the ICE building…