Portland police arrested a man suspected of using a metal baton to smash a luxury sedan as the car pushed through a throng of demonstrators more than a year ago in an encounter that blossomed into a national news story.

Shaun Clancy, 37, was booked Wednesday into the Multnomah County jail on a felony allegation of first-degree criminal mischief stemming from the Oct. 6, 2018, dustup.

Officers found a pair of brass knuckles on Clancy when they arrested him as well as a stun gun with an “Antifa” sticker pasted on it, according to police. Clancy now faces an additional allegation of carrying a concealed weapon.

Last year’s heated episode unfolded during a march to protest the fatal police shooting of Patrick Kimmons, a 27-year-old black man, where more than 100 people took to the streets in downtown Portland.

Kent Houser, 75, was driving his silver Lexus north along Southwest Fourth Avenue when he approached the group marching down the street in his direction.

Video of the incident shows Houser's sedan slowly turn east onto Salmon Street as a handful of protesters trail alongside his car. Some can be heard yelling. Others appear to strike and hit his vehicle.

Shaun Clancy (Multnomah County Sheriff's Office / Portland Police Bureau)

At one point, a masked demonstrator dressed in black throws his body onto the hood of the car as it inches down the block. The demonstrator eventually slides off to the side of the car and Houser hits the gas.

Houser speeds off down the block before stopping and getting out of his car. He then hops back in as some of the demonstrators run after him and catch up.

Several protesters can be seen attacking the car. One appears to strike Houser’s driver side window and panel as he zips off again.

“They beat the living daylights out of my automobile,” Houser told The Oregonian/OregonLive at the time, adding that the attack caused several thousand dollars in damage.

Police, who were nearby but mostly unseen, made no effort to intervene.

While relatively minor by Portland standards, the confrontation became national news.

Conservative pundits and media outlets pounced on a video of the episode — viewed millions of times — to paint Portland as a lawless town run by marauding left-wing mobs.

Progressive activists, invoking previous incidents when drivers used their cars as weapons against protesters, accused Houser of reckless behavior and of trying to mow them down.

Ten months later, on Aug. 13, a Multnomah County grand jury indicted Clancy and a warrant was issued for his arrest, court records show.

Records show Clancy told jail intake staff that he works as a bouncer at the Belmont Inn and Club Desire and is currently couch surfing between houses.

His next court date is scheduled for Jan. 3.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

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