In November 2019, an antifa pub in Portland linked to a homicide and a violent riot shut its doors for good. Cider Riot closed on Nov. 10 following a series of violent events at or near the establishment that brought scrutiny to its alleged ties with violent far-left extremists.
Cider Riot, stylized as “Cider Riot!,” first opened its storefront location in 2016 after a successful kickstarter campaign that raised more than $20,000. It quickly became known as a popular left-wing hang-out due to the outspoken political views of one of its owners, 41-year-old Abram Goldman-Armstrong. But the pub also embraced a far-left political identity by producing products featuring antifa-inspired names and images.
“Our Black Bloc Series ciders are our most hardcore and intense, and apt to disappear into the crowd before you know it,” read the advertisement on the website for a series of drinks, nodding to the antifa tactic of wearing black masks and outfits in order to commit crimes anonymously. Beyond branding and marketing however, evidence suggests the pub openly operated as a meeting and organizing space for far-left, violent extremists in Portland.
A report by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), a government agency, into the pub following a riot on May Day in 2019 details the length the owner and its staff went to allegedly obstruct and mislead state investigators.
On May 1, 2019, Cider Riot co-hosted a party with Rose City Antifa that devolved into a neighbourhood riot after right-wing group Patriot Prayer showed up outside the business. Rose City Antifa is the Portland antifa chapter whose members have been involved in violent riots since the election of Donald Trump. Two journalists, including myself, were attacked in the May Day brawl and a woman was knocked unconscious. Clips recorded at the scene by independent journalists show masked patrons from the pub armed with brass knuckles, batons, a pick and bear mace. Six suspects, all reportedly right-wingers, were eventually arrested. Last month, two of them took plea deals and were sentenced. Portland Police released photos of black-clad antifa suspects last August and asked the public for help in identifying them. There have been no further arrests, however.
Can You Help? Criminal Investigation https://t.co/a2crHo8GDT #CanYouIDME pic.twitter.com/9b0CIl51E7
— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) August 22, 2019
Within 48 hours of the riot, pub owner Goldman-Armstrong filed a $1m lawsuit against Joey Gibson, leader of Patriot Prayer, and other right-wing individuals for alleged loss of business. The stunt, coupled with a press conference organized by a left-wing legal group, presented Cider Riot as the victim of political violence. Attorney Juan Chavez compared the case to civil rights lawsuits against the Ku Klux Klan. The event generated favorable local media coverage for the pub for months until the redacted OLCC report was finally released to the public in September. The Post Millennial has now obtained the full, unredacted report.
The state investigation accuses the pub’s owner of knowingly allowing his patrons and security guard, Joseph LeVasseaur, to participate in a riot with illegal weapons. Investigators found that Goldman-Armstrong did nothing to remove violent patrons, nor did he call or instruct his staff to call the police for help, despite claiming otherwise.
“The licensee [Goldman-Armstrong] took pictures and was aware of patrons with illegal weapons on his premises and was aware that patrons were using those weapons,” the report reads. The OLCC recommended that Cider Riot’s owner and staff be charged for providing false statements, failing to evict and allowing unlawful activities.
Additionally, the agency recommended the pub be charged with concealing or destroying evidence. The details of the recommendation were previously redacted but The Post Millennial can report that it stems from Goldman-Armstrong allowing the pub’s security footage be deleted.
On May 16, Christopher Traynor, the detective assigned to the case, wrote an email to Goldman-Armstrong: “I need the internal video surveillance from Cider Riot for the time of the May Day incident. I am looking to track the movements from outside to inside and visa versa (via the front door) of a patron who was assaulted during the event. Will you please let me know how we can go about obtaining it. Thanks.”
The same day, Goldman-Armstrong wrote back: “Unfortunately the video only stores for 48 hours, then deletes itself, so I don’t have access any longer.”
He also claimed at one point that the establishment did not have a camera that captured the riot outside. However, photographs taken of the pub’s exterior on May Day show a business security camera pointed at the patio area.
Additionally, the report details how the pub’s staff were reluctant to speak with investigators, and in one case, tried to mislead them. Pub manager Breanne Gearheart spoke to state investigators only after she was reminded that as a permit-carrying bartender, she was obligated to cooperate. Joseph LeVasseaur, the pub’s licensed security, is accused in the report of lying to investigators about his actions that day.
The report states: “In [LeVasseaur’s] second interview on 6/13/19 he admitted that he had not been at the door during the riot and that he had not been maced and gone inside but in fact had been all over the premises patio and had maced people and engaged in a fight in the street.”
Videos recorded at the scene support the report’s finding.
Noah Bucchi, 22, who was a student journalist at Oregon State at the time of riot, also accuses the pub’s owner of assaulting him after he attempted to identify a masked individual who smashed his camera and ran inside the pub to hide.
“Only someone who was trying to protect those members of antifa would do something like that,” Bucchi says. “[Goldman-Armstrong] never tried to help me. He never called the police.” The OLCC report backs up Bucchi’s allegation that he was assaulted by Goldman-Armstrong. Stills included in the investigation show him shoving Bucchi outside Cider Riot. He says that he was later punched and pulled to the ground by a group of masked people. The report also documents Goldman-Armstrong lying or mistating that he had instructed one of his employees to call police during the riot. Manager Gearheart admitted she actually called the police non-emergency line on her own accord.
Additionally, a police report included in the unredacted investigation casts doubt on Goldman-Armstrong’s claim in his lawsuit that pub patron, Heather Ashley Clark, had a “serious vertebrae fracture” as a result of the right-wing attack. Some supporters of Cider Riot even spread rumors online that Clark, 32, had her “neck broken.” According to police, around 30 minutes after the brawl, they made contact with the owner to ask if anyone needed medical help.
The police report, written by Officer Chris Wheelwright, states: “I asked Mr. Goldman-Armstrong if anyone inside was the victim of a crime and Sergeant [William] Dunbar asked him if anyone needed medical attention … Mr. Goldman-Armstrong returned several minutes later and said there was nobody inside that wanted to talk to us or wanted medical attention.”
Rose City Antifa also tweeted on May 2: “When PPB approached Cider Riot twenty minutes after Gibson & his goons were repelled, they were not allowed into the establishment, but relayed a message asking whether anyone who had been assaulted wished to give a statement. The whole room erupted in laughter.”
Further, The Post Millennial has reviewed documentation from Clark’s hospital visit the day after the brawl. Doctors noted that “no acute fracture” and “no acute traumatic abnormality of the cervical spine” was identified. She was discharged shortly after visiting the hospital.
Ian Kramer, 45, was indicted and arrested for allegedly hitting Clark with a baton during the brawl. He is currently in state detention pending trial. The OLCC report also includes images appearing to show Clark rushing in to fight before she was knocked to the ground.
The still on-going investigation and lawsuit related to the brawl at Cider Riot has attracted attention in Portland partially because of Goldman-Armstrong’s own notoriety in the city. He is known for his involvement with the Portland Timbers soccer fan club, “Timbers Army.” The group has been marred in controversy for encouraging its members to display antifa propaganda symbols at games. Major League Soccer temporarily banned political symbols at games last year but lifted the restriction following protests.
Goldman-Armstrong has also found support from powerful political figures. Most notably, Democrat congressman Earl Blumenauer, whose Oregon district includes most of Portland. He has expressed support for Cider Riot and its owner on numerous occasions, including speaking at an event at the pub to support the $1m lawsuit as recently as September.
Blumenauer’s office did not respond to multiple inquiries for comment about the OLCC report and its findings.
But the violence outside Cider Riot didn’t start or end in May. The pub has hosted many events with Rose City Antifa, including a fundraiser for the violent extremist group in September 2018.
Five months after the May Day brawl, a 23-year-old antifa militant was killed under mysterious circumstances after leaving Cider Riot, where he was reportedly a regular. On Oct. 12, Sean Kealiher died after being hit by a car that had been fired upon outside the pub. A vagrant who witnessed his death said Kealiher’s friends dragged his body away from the scene, leaving a bloody trail. They never called police and antifa groups online urged their comrades to not cooperate with police in the homicide investigation.
Before Cider Riot closed last November, it was put on sale for a whopping $875,000. As of this story’s publication, the price listing on ProBrewer has dropped more than 80 percent, down to $150,000. Abram Goldman-Armstrong has denied that the riot and the ensuing fallout influenced his decision to close the business. He did not respond to inquiries for comment. His attorney declined to comment on the allegations raised in the official state report.
Want to help us grow? Here's what you can do!

WATCH: Arrests made as antifa, trans protestors disrupt free speech event in Seattle
On February 1, feminist group Women’s Liberation Front held a panel discussion at the Seattle Public Library on the impact of transgender activism on women’s sex-based rights. Featuring Sabina Malik, Kara Dansky, and Twitter-banned Meghan Murphy, the sold-out talk was met with resounding support, but trans rights activists and antifa made their resentment and hostility clear.
Masked protestors wielding signs and chanting misogynistic slurs were monitored closely by Seattle police, who were out in full force to detail the crowd outside of the library.
As the night continued, the protests grew louder. Protestors began to use drums, whistles, and amplifiers in an attempt to disrupt the peaceful women’s rights-related talk occurring inside. He seems nice. pic.twitter.com/b7PxLB9sjL
Several of the protestors managed to breach the security barriers and were shouted down by the crowd while police took action and removed them from the premises.
Another of the arrests during the SPL #Newmisogyny event. pic.twitter.com/YZIA8FVI6t— Amy Eileen Hamm (@preta_6) February 2, 2020
The Seattle Public Library event represents a disturbing trend in peaceful talks being shouted down by social justice mobs. In November of 2019, #GIDYVR had to relocate to the Pan Pacific after its Simon Fraser University sponsor, Mark Collard, withdrew access to the venue due to the overwhelming threat of violence.
In January 2020, Andy Ngo’s lecture at the University of British Columbia was cancelled citing similar concerns about campus safety.
All photos property of Amy Eileen Hamm (@preta_6) and used with consent.
Want to help us grow? Here's what you can do!

WATCH: Antifa protestor arrested in NYC and yells "My dad works for the court!"
Multiple arrests were made in New York City Friday night as far-left and antifa protestors clashed during the #FTP (F*ck the Police) protests that started at Grand Central Station.
One protestor had a curious message for his arresting officers as he was cuffed and dragged off. “My dad works for the courts,” he repeated as he was escorted out of the subway station.
Listen to this arrested Antifa whine to the police that his dad works for the court. Absolutely perfect pic.twitter.com/PcwS5SfJhr— Jack Posobiec🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) January 31, 2020
The protests were organized online, with one far-left Twitter account tweeting: “The streets are ours. The trains our [sic] ours. The walls are ours. This moment is ours. How will you and your crew build and fuck shit up for #FTP3 on #J31 (THIS FRIDAY)?”
The streets are ours. The trains our ours. The walls are ours. This moment is ours. How will you and your crew build and fuck shit up for #FTP3 on #J31 (THIS FRIDAY)? Issa mothafuckin' movement. pic.twitter.com/CoEjRSvmDX— DecolonizeThisPlace (@decolonize_this) January 28, 2020
Want to help us grow? Here's what you can do!

Far-left activists, antifa swarm NYC—multiple arrests made
Multiple people were arrested on Friday night as antifa and far-left “decolonization” activists converged on Grand Central Station in New York City as part of their “F*ck the Police” protest.
One masked protestor screamed “F*ck the police” as she was arrested.
Four officers had to carry this masked protester, who refused to walk: pic.twitter.com/AE32l46CfP https://t.co/mNERpFpots— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) January 31, 2020
After arrests were made in Grand Central Station, protestors took to the streets to march, chanting “How do you spell racist? NYPD!”
Others chanted “No justice, no peace! F*ck these racist-*ss police!”
At one point, the protestors tried to storm a subway stop. Police quickly mobilized and prevented their entry.
The protests were organized online, with one far-left Twitter account tweeting: “The streets are ours. The trains our [sic] ours. The walls are ours. This moment is ours. How will you and your crew build and fuck shit up for #FTP3 on #J31 (THIS FRIDAY)?” The streets are ours. The trains our ours. The walls are ours. This moment is ours. How will you and your crew build and fuck shit up for #FTP3 on #J31 (THIS FRIDAY)? Issa mothafuckin' movement. pic.twitter.com/CoEjRSvmDX
Want to help us grow? Here's what you can do!

Ontario missing reservist found dead in LaSalle Causeway
The OPP’s underwater search and recovery unit found the body of soldier Michal Beaman on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Beaman was found at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, just south of the LaSalle Causeway near the Royal Military College.
The Kingston Police, OPP officers and a group of military members all joined around a blue tarp at the side of the water Wednesday afternoon while several officers lifted what appeared to be the body of Michal Beaman from the river. He was then placed onto a tarp which was loaded into a Kingston police forensic identification vehicle and taken away.
Beaman was a 22-year-old reservist who went missing sometime last Friday night in Kingston.
“It saddens us deeply to report that the body of Private Michal Beaman was recovered. He was found in the water near the LaSalle Causeway in Kingston, by the Ontario Provincial Police’s underwater search and recovery unit,” read an emailed statement from Cpt. Derek Reid, public affairs officer with Canadian Army Doctrine and Training Centre according to Global News.
Beaman, originally hailed from New Brunswick but had been attending school in Kingston at the Royal Military College since the beginning of January.
The last time Beaman was seen was out with some friends at The Spot, a local Kingston nightclub.
Classmates reported him missing to their chain of command Saturday morning after it was discovered that he hadn’t returned home to the barracks. CFB Kingston began conducting a thorough search for Beaman by Sunday evening. The grounds were being searched by hundreds of military personnel by Monday. The OPP’s underwater and recovery unit joined the search on Tuesday.
Beaman’s aunt, Tracy Brewer, told the unit that he was seen on seen on a security camera around the LaSalle Causeway bridge and the unit primarily stuck to that area.
On Wednesday the ground search was called off by military police and all search efforts were shifted to the water. His body was found later that same afternoon.
Beaman’s next of kin have been notified according to Reid. Beaman’s parents travelled in from New Brunswick overnight Sunday just hours after learning that their son was missing. They continue to assist with the case.
Natalie Beaman described her son as a dedicated reservist. “He was very, very honoured to come and take the course,” Natalie said.
She added that Michal and his classmates “gelled” with him right away. “A real, real, real tight group of guys that are as thick as brothers. And they’re all out there looking for him.”
The cause of his death and other details about the time frame leading up to his death have not been released yet.






Social Media