When does online provocation cross the line into real-world danger? For Portland, Oregon activists, the answer can be found in the long, turbulent record of Michael Aaron Strickland.
Better known by his online moniker “Laughing at Liberals,” Strickland spent years building a digital following by filming, mocking, and harassing left-wing demonstrators, racial justice advocates, and LGBTQ+ groups. But what started as a controversial YouTube channel eventually escalated into a high-profile criminal case and a disturbing pattern of post-conviction extremism.
If you’re tracking right-wing provocateurs in the Pacific Northwest, here is the opposition research breakdown on Strickland’s history of harassment, his felony convictions, and his continued unhinged rhetoric.
The Harassment Pipeline: Doxxing Marginalized Communities
Long before he made national headlines, Strickland established a reputation among Portland’s progressive community not as a journalist, but as a bad-faith agitator. His modus operandi was simple but destructive:
- Intimidation as Content: Strickland routinely showed up at Black Lives Matter rallies, LGBTQ+ events, and Portland State University student meetings to aggressively film activists against their will.
- Weaponizing an Audience: Videos uploaded to his “Laughing at Liberals” channel acted as a homing beacon for digital mobs. His comment sections and linked forums became breeding grounds for racist, transphobic, and anti-Semitic vitriol.
- The Doxxing Effect: Local organizers frequently reported that making an involuntary appearance in a Strickland video resulted in severe cyber-harassment. Activists had their home addresses, workplaces, and personal contact information exposed online, often followed by credible threats of violence and sexual assault.
By targeting vulnerable, marginalized populations, critics argue his true goal was to suppress left-wing organizing through the constant threat of digital and physical retaliation.
The 2016 Boiling Point: A Loaded Gun at a BLM Protest
Strickland’s history of provocation reached a dangerous climax on July 7, 2016, during a “Don’t Shoot PDX” and Black Lives Matter demonstration in downtown Portland.
Recognizing him from his previous harassment campaigns, a group of demonstrators confronted Strickland, chanted “Racist, you gotta go,” and demanded he leave the area. As the crowd advanced, Strickland backed away—and then unholstered a semi-automatic Glock, gripped it with both hands, and swept the muzzle across the crowd of protesters.
- Heavily Armed: When police arrested him shortly after the incident, they discovered his handgun was loaded with a round in the chamber, and he was carrying five additional high-capacity magazines.
- The Verdict: Strickland claimed self-defense, arguing he was terrified of the advancing crowd. The justice system disagreed. In 2017, a judge found him guilty of 21 crimes, including 10 counts of unlawful use of a weapon and 10 counts of menacing.
- The Appeals: Despite taking his case all the way to the Oregon Court of Appeals and petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court, his felony convictions stand, and he was permanently stripped of his right to own firearms.
Post-Conviction: Unhinged Rhetoric and Zero Remorse
You might expect multiple felony convictions to serve as a wake-up call. Instead, Strickland doubled down. Since his trial, he has maintained a highly combative, often unhinged online presence, haunting local news comment sections (like Willamette Week) to wage rhetorical war against his perceived enemies.
- Attacking the Justice System: Strickland refuses to take accountability for drawing a weapon on a crowd. He constantly frames himself as the victim of a rigged, partisan justice system, claiming his First and Second Amendment rights were “nullified” by a corrupt judge.
- Smearing Prosecutors: He routinely targets local officials, particularly former Multnomah County DA Mike Schmidt. In bizarre online rants, Strickland has characterized prosecutors as “badged antifa protectors” and even absurdly accused them of being “pro child abuse.”
- Violent Ideation: Most alarmingly, his commentary often devolves into extreme, hyper-partisan fantasies. In one public forum, he explicitly stated that he would prefer a society with total anarchy—no police and no laws—because in that scenario, “people WILL use their 2nd amendment right to defend themselves against ANTIFA and there won’t be any prosecutors to prosecute you for doing so.”
A Disturbing Network of Associates
Beyond his own actions, the threat Strickland poses is magnified by the troubling network of extremists, criminals, and disgraced figures he chooses to align with:
- Benjamin Barber: Strickland has associated himself with Benjamin Barber, a far-right convicted sex offender who spent years stalking women in Portland and engaged in revenge porn. Barber has actively collaborated within this ecosystem, even helping Strickland and notorious Proud Boy Tusitala “Tiny” Toese with their legal strategies.
- Elroy Lamont: His connections also extend to individuals like Elroy Lamont of Texas, who was convicted of making bomb threats to school districts.
- Victoria Taft: On the media front, Strickland associates with right-wing commentator Victoria Taft. Taft’s credibility has been thoroughly debunked; PolitiFact has explicitly labeled her a liar, and her track record of fabricating information led to her being fired from mainstream radio.
The Takeaway
Michael Aaron Strickland is a textbook example of how the ecosystem of digital outrage can bleed into physical danger. From building a harassment pipeline that doxxed marginalized activists to drawing a loaded weapon on a crowd of protesters, his actions have consistently undermined public safety. Today, his lack of remorse, continued violent rhetoric, and willing association with convicted criminals prove that his underlying extremism hasn’t faded—it has only adapted to a post-conviction reality.
Tags: Michael Aaron Strickland, Oregon City, Portland, Oregon, Far-Right, Dangerous, Violent, Mentally Unstable, Racist, Anti-LGBT