Did Portland's mayor say he was moving out of the city because rioters have made it unsafe to live there? No, that's not true: Mayor Ted Wheeler said he would seek a new home in the city to relieve his neighbors of the burden of protesters who sometimes converge on his condo building. He did not say he would move out of the city, according to local reporting.
The claim appeared in a post published on September 2, 2020 on Facebook (archived here) with following text:
Portland mayor says he is moving out of the city due to rioters making it unsafe to live there
THIS IS PRICELESS LOL!!! 🤣
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Sun Sep 6 15:37:13 2020 UTC)
Mayor Wheeler's real words were reported in an article on OregonLive.com titled Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler says he'll move after protest outside his condo building draws arrests, widespread calls for change:
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler says he's looking for a new place to live after his Pearl District condo building has been the site of repeated demonstrations, including on Monday when crowds demanded he resign and some people set fires and broke windows.
In an email Tuesday from Wheeler to other residents of the 16-floor high-rise tower, the mayor said it would be "best for me and for everyone else's safety and peace" that he finds a new home. He assured people that police are taking their safety concerns seriously and invited them to a Thursday evening meeting that will include himself and officers to voice their concerns.
If Wheeler moved outside the city limits of Portland, it would make him ineligible to continue as mayor.
