By Daily Wire News
A man accused of stabbing two people to death in Portland in June was previously arrested during a riot in downtown Portland a week prior to the killings but the charges were dropped when progressive District Attorney Mike Schmidt reportedly decided to not pursue charges.
“Cassy Leaton, 22, and Najaf ‘Nate’ Hobbs, 39, were stabbed on June 16 near Northeast Davis Street. Police arrested Phillip Lawrence Nelson, 39, two days later,” KOIN News reported Tuesday. “He faces two murder charges and is being held without bail. Just days before he allegedly killed Leaton and Hobbs, though, Nelson was taken into custody at a protest in downtown Portland. Court records show he was arrested on charges of interfering with a peace officer. Those charges were dismissed the next day.”
Journalist Andy Ngo noted that the charges from the “violent antifa protest” were dropped because the case “wasn’t pursued by the DA.”
Breaking: Phillip L. Nelson, pictured below (left), was arrested at a violent #antifa protest in June & quickly released without bail. His criminal charge wasn’t pursued by the DA.
The following week, he allegedly stabbed two people to death. https://t.co/bUkB1qCWgF https://t.co/5j0yYOhcXJ
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) September 2, 2020
The report from the local CBS affiliate says that investigators believe that the two victims were murdered as part of a dispute they had with Nelson over a renting issue.