How Portland is wrestling with Trump protests, National Guard threat

The noise of a demonstration in front of his window awakens Brennah Hammar in the middle of the night.

L schoolcolors infiltrate its apartments complex, Gray’s Landing, located opposite an immigration building and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the South Waterfront in Portland.

For months, the area has become the scene of night clashes between federal agents and demonstrators, dressed in black, opposed to the arrests of migrants.

“It’s like an area of ​​war,” said Ms. Hammar, 57, about her street. Several other inhabitants spoke to BBC news in BBC news, which are centered on a single pâté de houses, while the tensions have overflowed and placed the city under the national spotlights.

“There are times when I had to wear a gas mask inside my own house,” she said, demonstrating how she now wears her mask to sleep.

President Donald Trump said he wanted to send the National Guard to protect federal officers and buildings, making Portland the last test case of the Trump plan aimed at deploying troops in places – mainly cities led by Democrats – which, according to him, are prey to crime.

“Portland is burning” and is prey to “insurgents everywhere,” he said.

But a federal judge expressed his disagreement and temporarily suspended Trump’s projects for Portland, saying that he seemed that the president had “exceeded his constitutional authority”.

Trump’s comments were also largely ridiculed and qualified as hyperbole by the 635,000 inhabitants of the city.

But for those who live in this apartment complex, there is a daily battle at their door, even if they do not agree on the responsibility of violence.

Some residents of the building accuse Antifa. Antifa, abbreviation of anti -fascist, is a left -wing decentralized movement that opposes the causes of the far right and has been appointed national terrorist group by Trump.

The neighbors of Gray’s Landing, who sympathize with the most extremist demonstrators, authorized them to enter the building, which led to clashes in the corridors, according to the inhabitants.

And some, who went out at night, were attacked or threatened, according to the images filmed by Ms. Hammar and shown in BBC News. His images showed gunshots and a resident struck in the face by a demonstrator.

Mayor Keith Wilson accuses federal agents of having prompted the crowd.

Wilson has requested an investigation into the actions taken by ICE agents, in particular the use of pepper gas and impact ammunition.

“This is an aggressive approach to stir up a situation which, moreover, was peaceful,” said Wilson on Sunday after a new night of tear gas and violent arrests.

Whatever the manager, violence has already changed the community.

The Cottonwood school, located next to the ICE building, moved in August after “ammunition” were found in the playground, according to school officials.

During the BBC day visit, a resident was seen bearing his two pet rats and shouting insults to the ICE agents posted outside the federal building.

“Go back to your enclosure, pig!” “Shouted the man, while cyclists dressed in Flaneur stopped to observe the scene.

A small gathering of demonstrators gathered outside the building, without any municipal agent in sight. A man dressed in chicken, present outside the establishment for several weeks, has motioned for cars.

Cindy Colgrove, 63, resident of Gray’s Landing, says that this is “115 days of hell” since the demonstrations against Trump intensified before the ICE facilities in June.

“I only go out during the day,” explains Ms. Colgrove while walking her neighbor’s dog near a small group of peaceful demonstrators.

“You see, all the antifas covered with black are not there. They come with the night. The day, it is all these old old old people who think they change the world before leaving this earth.”

Ms. Colgrove, who says she was attacked in the street while she was talking about the police, search in the basket of her walker to show the weapons she is now wearing – a mass box and a paralyzing pistol.

May Tai Boyd, 44, owner of a dog, told Ms. Colgrove that he does not agree with the fact that their building was “abandoned” by the local municipal authorities.

“I am aware of politics. So I feel a little different,” said Boyd, who has lived in the building for 13 years.

The US Air Force veteran claims that Trump’s project to send troops is a blatant violation of the American Constitution.

“I do not understand why the police cannot manage this. For example, why do you need to send troops – trained in combat and ready?”

In other districts of the famous liberal “pink city”, life continues normally. On Sunday, more than 12,000 people participated in the Portland marathon, passing the ICE installations without incident.

The only presence of the National Guard seen by the BBC was that of a recruiter on the finish line, holding a stand and asking the runners if they wanted to enlist.

Most of the inhabitants of Portland accuse Trump of being responsible for the troubles. In 2020, during his first mandate, Trump was also accused of firing protests when he sent national guard troops to city centers while thousands of people demonstrated against police violence.

In the Alberta district of Alberta, killing, the inhabitants called Trump’s assertions of the statements about Portland and praised the city for its culture and its friendly atmosphere.

A grocery worker noted that the city has a long history of being vilified by Republicans like Trump, including by George HW Bush who would have qualified Portland as “Petite Beirut”.

Nick, who only wishes to be identified by his first name, said he was disgusted by the arrests of immigrants who took place in the city by masked federal agents.

“Portland has the right to defend itself and defend its neighbors,” he said.

Back in Gray’s Landing, a cleaning operation is underway while industrial air purrs are installed throughout the complex. Residents claim that harmful anti-riot gases released by federal agents pass through the ventilation of the building.

“When it comes to the corridor, he goes right through,” explains Ms. Hammar, who went twice to the hospital because of how gas “has the impression of tightening the heart”.

HEPA 700 machines roar loudly and are accompanied by panels explaining how they “eliminate tear gas and other air chemicals”.

There are also white sticky pastilles placed like bench at each entry. They are intended to collect chemicals in tear gas powder, to prevent irritants from ending up in the building on the sole of their shoes like dust.

Ms. Hammar, from Portland, says that she does not agree with each of President Donald Trump’s policies, including his approach to immigration control. But she firmly believes in the Trump project to send the National Guard to Portland to support the federal agents.

“This is something that I support, as far as Trump is concerned,” she said, preparing for a new night of mermaids and gas.

“Because the city drops us and I don’t want to feel as a collateral damage. And my rights count too.”