Updated 7:21 p.m.

The owner of Cider Riot knowingly allowed his patrons to use “illegal weapons" against right-wing agitators during a May Day brawl and refused to remove unruly customers from his property, an investigation by state regulators alleges.

Abram Goldman-Armstrong and a licensed security guard who was working at his Northeast Portland cidery that day also are accused of providing misleading statements to state authorities during the investigation, documents claim.

The allegations are detailed in a report by a public safety inspector with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which recommended multiple administrative charges against Goldman-Armstrong and his Cider Riot staff.

The Oregonian/OregonLive obtained a copy of the report, which contained several redactions, Friday through a public records request. A version of the document also was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court by a lawyer for Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson, one of several right-wing defendants facing a $1 million lawsuit from Goldman-Armstrong over the clash.

The state commission’s investigation, completed in July, centers exclusively around the conduct of the Cider Riot owner and his employees during the May 1 melee and was prompted by multiple complaints filed with the agency, records show.

None of the complaints were made by pub patrons, investigators said. Most came from “concerned citizens throughout the state who viewed footage of the riot on the news and YouTube,” according to the report.

The investigation’s focus and findings diverge considerably from those undertaken by law enforcement officials, who have charged Gibson and five other men affiliated with Patriot Prayer with felony riot charges in connection with the skirmish.

Juan Chavez, an attorney for Goldman-Armstrong, said the state investigation’s conclusions were perplexing and unfounded.

“It’s not clear what OLCC would have wanted my client to do,” Chavez said. “Did they want Abe to be both a one-man police force and a bouncer, all while he was dealing with a small triage hospital in his cidery?”

Chavez also provided The Oregonian/OregonLive with images of posts shared or promoted on social media by Gibson and Patriot Prayer encouraging supporters to report Cider Riot to state regulators.

A number of anti-fascist, or antifa, activists were holding a celebration at Cider Riot on May 1 when police and prosecutors say Gibson and several associates took multiple steps to incite a brutal brawl outside the Northeast Couch establishment.

A chaotic scene erupted, with shouting, swearing, fighting, drink-throwing, rock-throwing and people using pepper spray or mace on others. Multiple people were injured.

Much of the clash was captured on video, which investigators reviewed alongside interviews with Goldman-Armstrong, the security guard and other staff, to form the basis of its findings.

They also spoke with Gibson as well as Andy Ngo and Noah Bucci, two men who were at the scene and are identified as journalists in the report. Ngo, a conservative writer and videographer, and Bucci, a student at Oregon State University, have publicly defended Patriot Prayer and other right-wing groups and criticized anti-fascist activists.

The investigators allege Goldman-Armstrong, who was at Cider Riot during the altercation, photographed patrons using “illegal weapons”. He was also aware of multiple people getting injured throughout the confrontation, which lasted more than a half-hour.

“Goldman-Armstrong stated that his patrons were only acting in self-defense but clearly, according to the video, he was present and watching as patrons displayed aggressive behavior,” wrote state inspector Genny Welp.

The Cider Riot owner never tried to remove these patrons from his pub, investigators allege, which state rules require.

He and the security guard working that day, Joseph LeVasseaur, also provided false statements, the investigators allege in the report.

Goldman-Armstrong told investigators he instructed one of his bartenders to call police about 30 minutes into the fight, but she said separately that she did that on her own, the report claims.

LeVasseaur initially told investigators that he had been working outside the pub’s entry the entire night, including the brawl. Later, he admitted that he left his post, used mace against some of Gibson’s associates and also participated in a one-on-one street fight, according to the report.

“When I asked LeVasseaur why he had not disclosed all this to me in the first interview he stated he was in fear of Patriot Prayer groups [sic] retaliation as the video had gone viral,” Welp wrote.

The report recommends Cider Riot’s owner and staff to be charged with providing false statements, failure to evict and permitting unlawful and disorderly activity, all state alcohol license violations. A charge of destroyed or concealed evidence also appears in the report, but the details of that allegation are redacted.

Matthew Van Sickle, an OLCC spokesman, said the agency plans to file a formal letter next week outlining charges against Cider Riot, which may include those recommended by the investigation.

Goldman-Armstrong will have an opportunity to respond to the letter and contest the charges, Van Sickle said.

“OLCC supports businesses, public safety and community livability, and so we ensure that every licensee has the opportunity to present their side on matters that rise to the level of violations,” the spokesman said.

Chavez, Goldman-Armstrong’s lawyer, said they will fight the allegations.

“These findings are not based on any reasonable reality,” he said.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

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