chips. thanks for watching, good night. ♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, after nearly a year of chaos in portland, antifa speaks. the rare interviews. two members of the far-left group. >> when people like proud boys or nazis or fascists come to our city and want to do that harm, then we are not allowing that. >> their movement blamed for much of the destruction, but have their evolving tactics pushed citizens too far? plus the wonder women making big impacts with gal gadot. >> you don't have to be one thing. we're all sorts of things and we're all kinds of things. >> the new docuseries spotlighting real-life

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join aids walk san francisco live at home, streaming on may 16. register today aidswalk.net ♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, the residents and police of portland, oregon, fed up with protracted unrest in their community for almost a year. from looting to property destruction.

much of the unrest blamed on antifa. now the rare interviews. two members of the self-described far-left group with a closer look at the motivation behind their actions. meet milo and ace. >> i'm milo, and i'm a member of rose city antifa. >> i'm ace, member of rose city antifa. >> reporter: along with these pseudonyms, they've asked to us frame their faces in shadow and alter their voices. >> the use of violence is a tactic of how we keep our community safe. >> reporter: they say they're members of the nation's oldest active antifa group. they rarely give interviews but they've agreed to sit down with us as tensions in their city of portland, oregon, have reached a prolonged and destructive stalemate after roughly a year of protest. much of the blame for the chaos, he self-described anti-racist, anti-fascist, far-left organizers.er ehe in the protest movement here, who now find themselves in a tense showdown with city officials.

>> we've always had protests here. but to see some of the violent acts like the molotov cocktails and some of the things thrown at officers has been really new to us. >> self-described anarchists who engage in regular criminal destruction don't want things to open up, to recover. the city of portland will not tolerate criminal destruction or violence. for those who are engaged in it, let's make it hurt them a little bit. >> when the mayor says that he wants protesters, quote-unquote, hurt a little, that is a pretty explicit threat. >> reporter: amidst the back and forth, a citizenry tired and increasingly turning on the group. >> i implore you to march, but please, stop the violence. >> i feel frustrated that this is still going on. i also feel frustrated that black people keep getting killed. i feel frustrated that small businesses aren't able to be successful during this time, especially in the state of oregon.

>> reporter: antifa claims they're defending their city, not only against heavy-handed police tactics, also from threats from far-right extremists. groups like the proud boys and the oathkeepers, leading to fierce standoffs like what is seen in videos like this. >> the use of violence is there to maintain safety for us and make sure that when people like proud boys or nazis or fascists come to our city and want to do that harm, then we are not allowing that. >> reporter: sustained attacks on property prompted a sharp rebuke from the mayor who is asking residents to help take back their city, be the eyes and the ears of the portland police. >> people arrive at so-called direct actions in cars. they're dressed in all black. our job is to unmask them, arrest them, and prosecute them. >> the mayor of this city is undeserving of his position.

he has made it abundantly clear that windows to him are more important than human lives. >> reporter: individuals claiming to be antifa released this chilling video last week that contained a seemingly veiled threat against mayor wheeler in response. one that published his home address. >> ted, we are asking for the last time that you resign. blood is already on your hands, ted. the next time, it may just be your own. >> reporter: neither milo nor ace claim to know anything about that video to the mayor, and they defend their role within the community. >> most of us are in this work to make our community safe and to make our communities better. and so when we see that there are people that are coming to our home and to our city advocating violence against people of color, against queer people, then it is our responsibility as community members to confront that. we do not bring that fight, but

we will meet it if it comes to us. >> reporter: the group has become a lightning rod for controversy. >> america is plagued by the specter of fascist violence. in an ironic twist these fascists call themselves anti-fascist, antifa. >> this includes antifa. >> members of antifa celebrated their fallen comrade -- >> donald trump wanted to make them a bogeyman for everything. >> reporter: mark bray is a history professor who studies antifa. >> certainly the one example that comes to mind for many people is that well-documented moment where richard spencer was punched. >> it's pepe, it's become kind of a symbol -- >> reporter: the sucker punch of an outspoken white nationalist that went well. inin the whi house, wanousold name in the states. >> reporter: despite the notoriety, they see their fight as a moral and just one. milo and ace say they practice community organizing and

empowerment, which includes publicly outing alleged fascists and other dangerous elements. >> so a lot of our work is compiling evidence of what iteration is in condemn operation tie fascist work, compiling evidence of people's online personalities and their online conversations. and how a lot of times we see far-right folks really engaging in hate speech and misogynistic language and threats of violence online. >> reporter: many, including exhausted business owners, seem increasingly receptive to the mayor's tough talk. >> i'm thankful for everybody in portland who feels the need to, you know, fight for justice, fight for rights, fight for safety and everything. but it has definitely affected our business. all the protesting and everything. in that, you know, people who

are coming to visit town actually feel really unsafe. >> reporter: ian williams is the owner of deadstock coffee, a a year of unrest at times forcing this barista to double as his own security. >> a guy was standing outside, somebody was like, hey, man, go ahead and get yours, bust the door. i was like, no, i'm protecting my business. i guess the message is just like, cut it out, why are you even doing this? really, you should be pulling up with the nails and hammers and helping me board it up, instead of trying to bust it down. >> reporter: margaret carter's legacy of public service runs deep in portland. she served as the first black woman in the portland state senate. she sympathizes with protesters but is pained by their destructive tactics. >> i marched during the days of trying to make a difference. my voice has always been out there. but never, never did we create violence. when you think in terms of small

businesses that are being hit, who are working very hard to just prepare a meal for their families, that really got my heart. >> reporter: milo and ace defend the destruction as a tactic to apply pressure on city leaders. >> there are a lot of reasons why people would engage in property destruction. i think one of the reasons people will break windows is a lot of times, like, symbolic of the way that the city will protect things of material value. but not its people. >> reporter: however, carter raises the question of whether the protests are truly legitimate or just random acts of looting. >> some of the people that have been identified was not black lives matter people. they were young white kids coming from across the country. >>reporter: reporting on portland's front lines over the past year, self-styled citizen journalist garrison davis. >> there's been tear gas the

majority of the nights here ever si reporr:e'tnsed firsthand sympathies change between protesters and citizens. >> there's been a growing animosity towards some of the protests among the population of portland. >> no justice, no peace! >> a lot of people are tired. a lot of people are exhausted. the police force is getting tired. we're unsure of what direction this will head. >> our neighborhood is already struggling. before covid. it has for years. so now with everybody thinking that the whole city is on fire, there really has been, you know, even more difficulty for us to be able to operate and do business. >> anti-fascists are a part of your community and that is not a scary thing. >> reporter: antifa isn't the first radical group in america to don masks, cloak themseves in anonymity. history will be left to decide if their fight was just.

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hey google, turn up the heat. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ celebrating everyday heroes. gal gadot, the "wonder woman" star shining a light on the women who inspire her, making big impacts in their communities. now the new national geographic

docuseries bringing the stories of those extraordinary women to life. here's my "nightline" coanchor juju chang. >> reporter: gal gadot, aka wonder woman, helped save the world repeatedly in the dc comics franchise, all while helping transform how women and girls around the world see themselves. >> i'm so thrilled to be in conversation with you. i know people may not know this, but you were crowned miss israel. you also served in the israeli military. and in fact, it was many of your skills as a warrior that caught the eye of hollywood. >> you don't have to be one thing. if you're a woman, it doesn't mean that you need to be necessarily delicate and fragile and all. no. we're all sorts of things. and we're all kinds of things. >> reporter: and now she's using her star power to shine a spotlight on real-life superheroes among us. >> if you keep your mouth shut, the prettier you look. >> some people can look and say, why don't y'all move?

you can't. you don't know how to live anywhere else. >> i have to fight for being an african-american and a transgender woman. >> reporter: hosting a six-part national geographic docuseries, "impact with gal gadot," which explores the powerful journeys of six women making a difference. >> we're all in this together. >> the entire ocean in one jump. you have everything within you. >> reporter: 21-year-old kameron everett, a collegiate figure skater outside of detroit, michigan. she first laced up skates and hit the ice at 7 years old. >> stand up here, kam, stand up. >> reporter: practicing at the detroit ice rink with coach nina to land the perfect routine for competitions. >> good. come around. >> reporter: kameron has dedicated her life to coaching young girls of color, to empower them both on and off the ice. >> when i think about inspiring the girls, i want them to change their community.

i want them to put more positive light into their community. happiness is contagious. that's something i like to pass along to them, just to overall make the city a happier place. >> reporter: the docuseries makes it a point to show the hardships these girls face within their community. >> to me, making a difference means building tomorrow's leaders. i feel like you have to start somewhere. i think the best place to start is with the youth. i want them to take what i am teaching them, take what they are gathering from me, with our time together, and spread it out in all aspects of life. >> reporter: the docuseries taking the audience from detroit to puerto rico, where 20-year-old ariana font martin is leading a team of college students who invented a water filtration system. in 2017, hurricane maria ravaged puerto rico, its citizens going years without government assistance, living without

drinkable water in their own homes. what do you want the world to know about what's happening with puerto rico and the water? >> there's been so much mismanagement from the government. there's been so much corruption. it gets to a point where there's nothing else to do. there's sort of this hopelessness that lingers in all these communities. >> reporter: ariana, a full-time college student, turned her attention to the crisis around her. >> i want to be that person that tells them, i am going to be here to provide you with something that you haven't had for years. i want to give you that hope again. >> reporter: the docuseries giving us a glimpse of the hope she's providing to her community, traveling into people's homes to assess their water, and then this moment. >> what was that moment like, to see that your work was having that impact? >> when she just said, thank you, i was like -- wow. when she was just telling me her story, and her eyes started tearing up, she was just telling me how much of a struggle it was for so many years.

it just feels amazing to know that i am helping her. if i'm helping her as an individual, as one person, imagine what we can do to help bigger communities and a lot more people with this issue. >> we will fight as long as it takes, do whatever it takes. >> reporter: the series, directed by academy award-winning documentarian vanessa roth. >> what all these women have in common is that they have all been impacted by some kind of either discrimination, obstacles, challenges, violence, things in their lives that often people feel they can't do anything about. but these women, no matter what it is they're doing, it's something that they turned around and said, yes, i can make an impact. >> reporter: in memphis, tennessee, the docuseries follows kayla gore, her advocacy shown in full force. developing a tiny homes project. >> the tiny houses is an opportunity for us to be able to help people build generational

wealth within their families. a lot of people don't see trans people as family units. we want to showcase that we are family units. >> reporter: kayla, the cofounder of an advocacy group called my sistah's house memphis, providing urgent resources. >> do you feel out on the streets you're literally saving lives? >> it gives me a sense of purpose. whenever i'm doing this work, especially outside of the transgender community, i see me as a bridge between the cisgender community and the trans community, through outreach, through providing them with resources. >> reporter: for host gal gadot, stories of women who dare to dream are what drew her in. >> i'm so inspired by each and every one of you, how you took your challenge and your own struggle, and instead of feeling sorry for yourself or being dark about it or being angry about

it, you actually transformed it into such a powerful tool that completely impacted other people's life. >> it's one thing to be recognized by, you know, somebody. but when that somebody is literally wonder woman? >> to just get recognition from her, from wonder woman, and especially from her telling us, you guys are wonder women, not me, you guys are the real wonder women -- it's just unreal. the whole experience has been, like -- it's been crazy. and i am completely grateful. and i am just really happy with how this all has turned out.m a episode >>has new episodes of "impact with gal gadot" premieres monday on national geographic's youtube channel. disney is the parent company of national geographic and abc news. up next, the rock star treatment for some special teachers.

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finally tonight, teachers' pets. rolling out the red carpet for national teacher appreciation day. the students and staff at st. mary's school in williamston, new jersey, honoring the men and women teaching remote learning throughout the pandemic, giving back to the educators who gave so much in return. we honor all the teachers in our lives. that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here, same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night. i have the pleasure to present to you... dr. martin luther king. sometimes, this is what it takes. facing down hate. facing down bias. as we step out, bay area,