- Armed federal agents, some from the Department of Homeland Security, have been patrolling the streets of Portland, Oregon, using military tactics and putting protesters into unmarked vans.
- Demonstrators have reported being arrested by federal agents without explanation as well as being teargassed and hit with impact munitions.
- In response, the city’s leadership has demanded the immediate removal of federal officers, and officials have filed a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of unlawful practices.
- Protests against police brutality and racism have been taking place in Portland for more than 50 days, and President Donald Trump, who supports federal intervention, has called the demonstrators “anarchists and agitators.”
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Armed federal agents have been patrolling the streets in Portland, Oregon, in a dramatic show of force in which some protesters describe being thrown into unmarked vans.
The federal officers were deployed at the recommendation of President Donald Trump, who directed agencies to organize personnel in cities to protect monuments, statues, and federal property during demonstrations.
The officers have been seen throwing protesters into unmarked vehicles, issuing arrests without explanation, shooting protesters at close range with impact munitions, and teargassing large crowds.
The deployment includes a team of officers from Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service, and the Coast Guard, The New York Times reported.
But state and local officials didn't request the officers.
Gov. Kate Brown has called the deployment a "blatant abuse of power," and the state's attorney general is suing the Department of Homeland Security, accusing the administration of unlawful policing tactics. A criminal investigation has also been opened after a protester was injured in a bloody scene that was captured on video.
These photos show what's unfolding in Portland.
Federal agents, some reporting to the Department of Homeland Security, others to Customs and Border Protection or other federal agencies, have been patrolling the streets of Portland, Oregon.
Source: Business Insider
The officers were sent in at the recommendation of President Donald Trump, who issued an executive order allowing federal agents to be deployed to cities to protect monuments, statues, and federal property during demonstrations.
Source: The New York Times, White House
But militarized federal agents have been seen targeting demonstrators outside this decree.
Source: Business Insider
The federal officers have used tear gars, smoke bombs, nonlethal munition, stun grenades, and sometimes-brutal force to break up demonstrations.
Sources: AP, The Oregonian
Officers have been roaming the streets in unmarked vans, seizing protesters without explanation. A candidate for a US House seat shared the video below, which he said showed federal agents unlawfully detaining someone in an unmarked vehicle.
https://twitter.com/QasimRashid/status/1284117114547298304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Source: Business Insider
"It felt like I was being hunted for no reason," one protester who was chased by an unmarked van told The New York Times. "It feels like fascism."
Source: The New York Times
The agencies have been given the authority to make arrests if they think a federal crime was committed, but local officials maintain that many arrests have been unwarranted and unprompted.
Sources: The New York Times, Business Insider
Oregon's attorney general has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and the US Marshals Service meant to stop federal agents from arresting people, saying the officers have grabbed people "without warning or explanation, without a warrant, and without providing any way to determine who is directing this action."
Source: Business Insider
"The current escalation of fear and violence in downtown Portland is being driven by federal law-enforcement tactics that are entirely unnecessary," Oregon's attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum, said in a statement.
Source: Business Insider
Additionally, prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation after a protester was shot in the head by a nonlethal weapon. Another video showed a Navy veteran, Christopher David, being beaten and sprayed with chemicals after asking the officers to remember their oath to protect the Constitution.
See a protester with 'hands up' get shot in the head.
A young man holding a speaker over his head was shot by a U.S. Federal Police officer in Portland, Oregon. The demonstrator was seen apparently tossing a gas canister back in the direction of police before being hit. pic.twitter.com/3h3pFNFwWG— CGTN America (@cgtnamerica) July 17, 2020
The man in this Portland video is Christopher David.
A Navy veteran, he tells us he went to the protests for the first time to ask officers about the constitution.
He said his fingers are broken and he needs surgery.
MORE: https://t.co/W7qAD8R4xJpic.twitter.com/BBZnUZlJyW
— Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) July 19, 2020
Source:Insider
It's often difficult to tell which agency the federal officers are with because their uniforms don't always say.
Gov. Kate Brown has called the deployment a "blatant abuse of power," and Mayor Ted Wheeler declared the use of force an "attack on our democracy."
Source: The New York Times
On Friday, Democratic lawmakers throughout the state sent a letter to Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf and US Attorney General William Barr, demanding the removal of federal agents.
Source: Business Insider
But Trump defended their actions by saying they were there to take "control of the anarchists and agitators."
Source: Insider
Portland has held demonstrations against police brutality and racism every day since George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis on May 25.
Source: Business Insider
Demonstrators have used a variety of peaceful tactics to combat injustice, with a small minority of protesters engaging in violent or destructive behavior.
Source: Business Insider, The New York Times
But the Trump administration has consistently used rhetoric to denote all demonstrators as "anarchists" and "violent." On Thursday, Wolf, the acting DHS secretary, claimed the federal deployment was in response to the city being "under siege" by "a violent mob while local political leaders refuse to restore order to protect their city."
Source: Insider
On Friday, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the city's downtown Justice Center, and a few protesters dismantled a chain-link fence that blocked access to closed city parks across the street.
Source: AP
In response, federal agents used impact munitions, stun grenades, and tear gas to clear the area.
Source: Business Insider
But local journalists reported that they did not observe any incident from protesters that might normally have prompted the use of such weapons.
Source: Business Insider
Clashes between police officers and protesters continued throughout the weekend, and local law enforcement joined forced with federal agents to break up demonstrations.
Source: Business Insider
To help protect protesters from being arrested or hurt, a group of local women formed what was billed as a nonthreatening "wall of moms" in front of demonstrators on Saturday and Sunday.
Source: Insider
But federal agents continued to deploy tear gas and other tactics to break up demonstrations. In response, larger crowds of protesters have gathered, and some have come prepared with shields and protective equipment.
Source: The New York Times
One protester who's attended roughly 40 demonstrations told The New York Times: "We're not leaving."
Source: The New York Times
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