Trump directs defense secretary to deploy troops to Portland
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he ordered the defense secretary Pete Hegseth to “provide all the necessary troops” in Portland, Oregon.
In an article on Truth Social, the president wrote that the troops “would protect the war ravaged in Portland” and protect the immigration and application of customs facilities which, according to him, are “besieged against attacks by antifa and other domestic terrorists”.
Trump added that he “authorized all the strength, if necessary”, but did not specify what it meant.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately answer clarifying questions about the soldiers branch deploying in Portland.
The president spoke several times negatively of Portland, in particular saying Thursday that “anarchy” takes place in the western city of the west coast.
“You go out in Portland, people die there. Many people have died over the years in Portland. Portland is, I don’t know how someone lives there. It’s incredible, but it’s anarchy there. That’s what they want. They want anarchy,” Trump said in the Oval Office remarks on Thursday.
Last week, in separate comments in the oval office, the president said that the inhabitants of Portland were “out of control”.
“Have you seen Portland at all? If you take a look, what’s going on in Portland. It’s been for years. Just out of control, crazy. We’re going to stop it very soon,” Trump said.
Pentagon officials seemed surprised by the social post Truth and told NBC News that they were not aware of any new order to send troops to Portland. The officials said they had no immediate information on a potential operation, including the size and scope of the mission or which, the National Guard or the active forces in active service, would be deployed.
This decision also comes after a shooter opened fire on the agency’s field office in Dallas on Wednesday, injuring two prisoners and killing an inmate.
Friday, the leaders of Portland urged residents to stay calm before they said they were an expected increase in federal police in an ice installation in the region.
“This is a disappointing news,” said the city mayor Keith Wilson on Friday at a press conference. “We didn’t ask them to come. They are here unprecedented or objective. We have seen how their presence harms trade, prosperity and opportunities in other cities like Washington, DC ”
Senator Jeff Merkley, D-ear., Also attended the press conference and urged residents to avoid confrontation with federal law enforcement agents.
“We are not going to take bait,” Merkley told journalists. The senator said that it was acceptable to express views and protests, but it is “better made at a distance from these federal troops”.
On Saturday, after Trump’s announcement, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek said that she was holding out to the White House for more information, adding that “there is no national security threat to Portland”.
“My office contacts the White House and internal security for more information. We have received no information on the reason or the aim of a military mission. There is no national security threat to Portland. Our communities are safe and calm,” Kotek wrote in an article on X.
In a separate declaration, Wilson said that “the number of troops required is zero, in Portland and any other American city”.
The president has long been frank on his negative opinions towards Portland, a city he declared in his first mandate as a “anarchist jurisdiction”.
Trump for months has made its doors against crime in American cities, threatening to endanger federal police and troops with several cities led by Democratic mayors – including Chicago, Baltimore and New Orleans. The threats attracted the return of flames and the Democratic governors of Illinois, Maryland and other states.
Earlier this month, the president also signed a memo establishing a working group aimed at mobilizing the troops of the National Guard and the federal police in Memphis, Tennessee. This decision was supported by the governor of Tennessee Bill Lee, a republican.
Trump also authorized the deployment of national guard troops and an increase in federal police for the national capital in August. While Washington, DC, DC, mayor Muriel Bowser attributed to the sharp increase in the reduction of crime in the city, she also declared towards the end of August that the continuous presence of immigration agents and troops “worked” in Washington.
Earlier this month, Washington continued the Trump administration, alleging an “illegal deployment” of national guard troops in the city.
This trial intervened only a few days after a Federal Judge of California judged that the Trump administration had violated a law which prohibits the use of soldiers for civil law enforcement activities. The president in June mobilized 4,000 troops of the National Guard and 700 navies in Los Angeles to repress the demonstrations against the raids of immigration and customs.
