Protests scandal: Portland mayor demands Trump not to interfere
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler demanded that U.S. President Donald Trump take out armed federal agents from the city on Friday, July 17, after they began to detain people in the city streets away from federal property that these agents were supposed to protect. Writes about it "Voice of America".
Photo: Shutterstock
“Keep your military in your own buildings or leave our city,” Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler said at a news conference addressing the president.
Oregon Governor Democrat Keith Brown suggested that Trump is going into a confrontation in hopes of scoring political points ahead of the election, as well as trying to divert attention from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has escalated both in Oregon and across the country.
Governor's spokesman Charles Boyle said arresting people without good reason is "an extremely serious violation of their civil liberties and constitutional rights."
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said she will file a lawsuit with the Federal Court against the Department of Homeland Security, the Marshals Service, the Customs and Border Guard Service, and the Federal Security Service, claiming they violated Oregon civil rights by detaining them without good reason. The state attorney will also seek a temporary restraining order against federal authorities.
Federal authorities have indicted at least 13 people associated with the Portland protests. Some of these people were detained outside the federal courthouse, near which there had been riots in recent weeks, but others were seized a few blocks from the federal building.
The Customs and Border Protection said that its agents had information that one of the detainees was suspected of assaulting federal agents or destroying federal property.
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“As Customs and Border Protection agents approached the suspect, a large and aggressive crowd began moving in their direction. For everyone's safety, agents quickly moved the suspect to a safer location,” the statement said.
On Friday, July 17, Portland Attorney Billy Williams said he had asked the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security to investigate the actions of department employees in the city.
On Friday, two Oregon senators and two House of Representatives representatives from Oregon demanded that US Attorney General William Barr and Acting Homeland Security Department head Chad Wolfe immediately remove "federal militias from the state."
Members of Congress also said they will ask the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security and the US Department of Justice to investigate the presence and operations of federal forces in Portland.
Wolfe visited Portland on Thursday, July 16, and called the protesters protesting against racism and police brutality "brutal anarchists." Wolfe accused the state and city authorities of not ending the protests. However, Portland police said Friday they had arrested 20 people overnight.
Several riots occurred in Portland on Thursday evening, one outside a federal courthouse and another outside a police station in another part of the city. Police ordered protesters to leave the area after demonstrators began chanting calls to set the building on fire. One protester later said the chant was "more of a rhetorical statement rather than an actual call" for the arson.
On Friday, July 17, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell told reporters that his employees were in contact with federal agents, but they did not control each other's actions.
“We communicate with federal officials for situational awareness and conflict resolution,” Lovell said. “We work in very, very close proximity to each other.”
Trump's Reaction
Trump defended the actions of federal law enforcement on his Twitter page: “We are trying to help Portland, not harm it. City leaders a few months ago lost control, which passed to the anarchists. They are not doing their job. We must protect federal property and our people. These are not ordinary protesters, ”writes Ukrainian service of Voice of America.
Screenshot: Twitter / @ realDonaldTrump
The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon called federal law enforcement's actions against protesters in Portland "unconstitutional."
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“What's happening in Portland right now should concern everyone in the United States,” said Ian Carson, interim executive director of the Union. “Usually when we see people in unmarked cars forcibly grabbing someone on the street, we call it a kidnapping.”
Acting Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli said federal agents used unmarked vehicles to detain people in Portland. But he added that this was done to protect officers from the crowd and to move detainees to a "safe location for questioning."
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Portland Congressman Earl Blumenauer criticized federal officers late on Saturday, July 18, for arresting and using tear gas against protesters: “Last month, the Administration used tear gas against peaceful protesters in Washington, D.C. . Now we see them kidnapping protesters in Portland in unmarked cars, all with the goal of inflaming tensions for their own gain. While Portland is the president's current target, any city could be next. The House is determined to take immediate steps to stop these terrible abuses of power.”
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