A Portland jury on Wednesday cleared 47-year-old Angella Lynn Davis of all charges following a three-day trial centered on a chaotic October confrontation with independent journalist Nick Sortor. Davis, a resident of Vernonia, Oregon, had been charged with second-degree disorderly conduct and offensive physical contact.
The case stemmed from a skirmish near an activist encampment adjacent to the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. Prosecutors alleged that Davis, identified in video footage wearing a black bird costume, aggressively pursued Sortor after he used a fire extinguisher to put out an American flag that had been set on fire.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Kevin Demer told jurors that Davis brandished a stick and helped a group of individuals in black clothing surround the reporter…