DONALD Trump has ordered US troops be sent to a city “under siege”, despite local leaders saying the community is “safe and calm”.
The Don said soldiers would be sent to “war-ravaged” Portland in Oregon, to protect the Immigration and Customs Enforcement centres, saying they were under attack from Antifa.
ReutersICE agents and facilities have been targeted by protests in Portland all summer[/caption]
GettyTrump says he will send troops to Oregon to protect ICE[/caption]
ReutersProtests at a centre in downtown Portland have been going all summer[/caption]
“At the request of the Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, I am directing the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary troops to protect war-ravaged Portland and any of our ICE facilities under siege,” he said in a social media post on Saturday.
“I am also authorising Full Force, if necessary.”
Describing Antifa – short for Anti-Fascist – as “domestic terrorists”, the White House did not define what Trump meant by “full force”.
The White House also didn’t confirm which troops would be sent into Portland to protect the ICE centres.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the action came after “weeks of violent riots at ICE facilities” and attacks against other law enforcement agencies.
“We will not allow Antifa domestic terrorists to deter us in our mission to make America safe, and those who try will be held accountable,” she said.
This is the latest demonstration of Trump’s willingness to utilise the military in his push to reduce crime in American cities.
In June, he deployed the National Guard in Los Angeles and again in Washington DC last month.
He has also threatened to send troops to several other Democratic-led cities, including Baltimore and Chicago.
McLaughlin told Fox News that the White House had been investigating the “highly organised” protests, claiming that some are being paid and funded.
No evidence supporting this claim has been released.
“Whether it be in Portland, whether it be in Chicago or otherwise, we will bring the resources we need to make sure that Americans are safe,” she said.
State and local leaders urged protesters to stay peaceful in a press conference on Friday night, after Portland experienced an increase in activity from federal agents.
US Senator Jeff Merkley was among the voices of reason.
“Here is what I do know – the president has sent agents here to create chaos and riots … to induce a reaction, to induce protests, to induce conflicts,” he said.
“His goal is to make Portland look as he was describing it as.
“Our job is to say ‘We are not going to take the bait;”.
ReutersICE agents stand guard during a protest in Portland[/caption]
APDemocratic Oregon Govenor Tina Kotek spoke at a news conference in Portland, on Saturday[/caption]
APPortland Mayor Keith Wilson spoke alongside the Governor, saying the only violence Trump will find would be of his own making[/caption]
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson released a statement on Saturday, saying sending troops to the city was unnecessary.
He added the president “will not find lawlessness or violence here unless he plans to perpetrate it”.
“Imagine if the federal government sent hundreds of engineers, or teachers, or outreach workers to Portland, instead of a short, expensive and fruitless show of force,” the mayor wrote.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek hit back at Trump on social media, saying her office had not been informed why troops were being deployed.
“My office is reaching out to the White House and Homeland Security for more information,” she wrote.
APThe Portland ICE facility at the centre of the summer’s protests[/caption]
APClashes between protesters and police force during demonstrations against ICE facilities[/caption]
APICE agents making an arrest in Portland[/caption]
“We have been provided no information on the reason or purpose of any military mission.
“There is no national security threat in Portland. Our communities are safe and calm,” she added.
In a second post to social media platform X, she said she had told Trump and Noem that Portland and Oregon can “manage our own local public safety needs”.
Trump’s announcement comes after 29-year-old Joshua Jahn allegedly opened fire on an ICE facility in Dallas.
Authorities believe he had been targeting ICE agents and property; however, he killed one detainee and seriously injured two others.
The ICE facility two miles south of downtown Portland has been the target of almost constant protests throughout the summer.
APProtester faces off with ICE agent in Portland[/caption]
ReutersProtests against ICE have been ongoing around the US all summer[/caption]
Shutterstock EditorialTrump called Portland “war torn” when announcing troops deployment[/caption]
Demonstrations had been mostly peaceful, with some ending in the deployment of tear gas.
The facility has been closed for several days over the summer as a result.
Trump has repeatedly claimed since Thursday that Portland protesters have been paid “a lot of money” to cause chaos.
“We’re going to get out there and we’re going to do a pretty big number on those people in Portland that are doing that,” he said.
“They’re professional agitators and anarchists.”
Earlier in the week, Trump signed an executive order that designated Antifa as a “domestic terrorist organisation”.
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The move came just one day after the memorial service for the murdered conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Trump described Antifa as a “sick, dangerous, radical left disaster” and promised to go after its sources of funding.
According to the executive order, “Antifa is a militaristic, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law”.
EPAUS President Donald Trump signing executive orders in the Oval Office[/caption]
The president first announced his plans to take action against left-wing groups he blamed for encouraging the violence that led to Charlie Kirk’s death on social media last week.
He said: “I am pleased to inform our many USA Patriots that I am designating Antifa, a sick, dangerous, radical left disaster, as a major terrorist organisation”.
“I will also be strongly recommending that those funding Antifa be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices,” he continued.
In relation to Kirk’s murder, Trump said: “radical left-wing political violence” was “directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop now”.
Despite the president’s accusations against the left-wing political organisation, there has been no public evidence linking Kirk’s death to the group.
Antifa is a decentralised movement that has no clear hierarchical structure and no leader, according to a 2020 Congressional Research Service report.
ReutersTrump signed an executive order designating Antifa as domestic terrorists[/caption]