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The man whose smashing of car windshields in a Toyota dealership last November became one of the iconic images of post-election chaos in the Portland streets today pleaded guilty to five counts of criminal mischief.
21-year-old Mateen Abdul Shaheed pleaded guilty to five counts of first and second-degree criminal mischief. Prosecutors agreed to ask for a maximum of 18 months of prison time for Shaheed, according to a report by The Oregonian.
Nov. 10, the third night of six consecutive nights of Portland street marches against the election of President Donald Trump, turned to chaos when men wearing masks, including Shaheed, began destroying property with baseball bats.
WW reported at the time: "The new ringleaders set off fireworks, smashed car windshields in the Broadway Toyota dealership, broke bottles and shattered the glass of a TriMet bus stop."
Related: Portland anti-Trump protest turns to chaos as masked vandals smash car windshields and bus stops.
The masked men were believed at the time to be anarchists—but many turned out to be mere thrill-seekers who capitalized on the political unrest.
Among them was Shaheed, who was 20 years old at the time. He was caught in photos and surveillance video smashing the windshields at Broadway Toyota and lighting a Portland Tribune newspaper box on fire.
He was arrested on Nov. 15. "He knows what he did was wrong, he made some poor choices," his mother told KATU-TV.
Shaheed's sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 16.