Trump says he will send troops to Portland, Oregon, in latest deployment to US cities

Portland, Oregon. – Portland, Oregon. (AP) –

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would send troops to Portland, “authorizing all the strength, if necessary” to manage “national terrorists” when he extends his deployments to more American cities.

Oregon Democratic Governor Tina Kotek replied by saying that Trump abuses his authority by commanding troops in a city which, according to her, was “very well” in itself. She was joined by other heads of government, police and business who all said that the soldiers were not necessary and that Trump presents a false image clearly of the city.

Trump made his announcement on social networks, writing that he ordered the Ministry of Defense to “provide all the troops necessary to protect the Ravaée Portland war”. Trump said the decision was necessary to protect American immigration and customs facilities, which, according to him, is “besieged against attacks by Antifa and other domestic terrorists”.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for details on Trump’s announcement, such as a calendar for deployment or on which troops would be involved.

At a afternoon press conference Kotek said that she had said to Trump directly and the interior security secretary Kristi Noem, earlier, the troops were not necessary and that she thinks that he did not have the power to deploy the army there.

“We can manage our own local public security needs. There is no insurrection. There is no threat to national security,” Kotek told journalists.

The governor said that she “tried to understand her reasoning” during their conversation and that her answer was right: “let’s continue to speak”.

“This is an American city. We don’t need any intervention,” said Mayor Keith Wilson at the press conference. “It is not a military target.”

Kotek said the president had not given a calendar for the arrival of the troops. She said that she had told her that the Oregon National Guard was not necessary and that she did not plan to call her.

Trump, however, previously deployed soldiers on duty and navies in active service in Los Angeles, even if the governor of California Gavin Newsom has opposed it. The federal government appealed to the decision of a judge that Trump’s use by Trump was illegal by Trump.

Kotek urged the public to remain calm, saying that any type of material damage or violence will not be tolerated.

“Let’s not take bait,” she said. “Let’s not answer what the president tries to do.”

Earlier on Saturday, there was no sign of federal presence in the city center, where people jogging along the Willamette river, relaxed by a fountain aboard the river or bearing bikes on a sunny fall day.

“Where’s the urgency?” Asked the resident Allen Schmertzler, 72, who said he was “disgusted” by the president’s decision.

Another, John McOR, 74, described Trump’s “ridiculous” Trump’s declaration. He stressed that he was “a quiet walk” along the river on a peaceful and sunny day.

“This place is not an out of control city,” he said. “It’s just a beautiful place.”

Trump had previously threatened to send the national guard to Chicago but has not yet followed. A deployment in Memphis, in Tennessee, is expected soon and will only include 150 soldiers, much less than those who were sent to the District of Columbia for the repression of Trump against crime or in Los Angeles in response to immigration demonstrations which have become violent with the arrival of troops.

In Memphis, around 80 to 100 people walked towards a place in front of the Town Hall to protest against the expected arrival next week of the guard and more than a dozen federal law enforcement, ranging from immigration to the application of drugs.

The demonstrators held signs with messages such as “resources and not working groups” and “Memphis does not need occupation, Memphis does not need government control” – a piece on the song by Pink Floyd “Another Brick in the Wall”.

The speakers said in advance that instead of federal troops and agents, Memphis needs more funding for education, crime prevention, young people and hospitals. Oregon officials made similar comments.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the Ministry of Defense would provide information and updates when they are available.

“We are ready to mobilize US military staff to support DHS operations in Portland towards the president,” said Parnell.

A spokesperson for the Oregon National Guard, Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen Bomar, said by e-mail that no official request had been received for the moment “for the support of the guard.” All requests should be coordinated through the governor’s office, “he added.

The delegation of the Oregon Congress, with the exception of the GOP representative, Cliff Bentz, demanded that the Trump administration prevents federal agents and troops in Portland.

“This unilateral action represents an abuse of executive authority, seeks to encourage violence and undermines the constitutional balance of powers between the federal government and the States,” the Democratic legislators wrote in a letter to Trump, the defense secretary Pete Hegseth and Noem.

Portland, resident of 636,000 inhabitants, was the site for protesting long -term racial justice and sometimes violent following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020.

Recent demonstrations have been much more deaf and focused on the area around the ice building. It is located outside the city center, which was the heart of the 2020 events. Its main entrance and its ground windows were embarked and were previously marked with graffiti.

Some federal agents were injured and several demonstrators were accused of assault. Some demonstrators also say they were injured. When the demonstrators erected an accessory guillotine earlier this month, the Ministry of Internal Security described it as “disarticulated behavior”.

Police chief Bob Day said at the press conference that his agency does not participate in the application of immigration. He later said that federal protection services are responsible for the construction of ice and that the police would only intervene against vandalism or criminal activities in the surrounding area.

The city said this month that it issued a notice of violation of land use at its ice building because it had been used to hold people overnight or for more than 12 hours – violations of its conditional approval of land use. DHS said prisoners are briefly treated before being sent to other detention establishments.

Portland is one of the many so -called sanctuaries. There is no strict definition for sanctuary cities, but the term generally describes places that limit cooperation with ice.

Municipal groups and civil servants have sought to highlight the takeover of the city center since 2020.

This summer would have been the most frequented for pedestrian circulation since before the pandemic, and global violent crimes from January to June decreased by 17% compared to the same period in 2024, revealed a recent report by Major Cities Chiefs Association. The city center experienced a decrease in homeless camps.

Since the assassination of September 10 of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Trump has increased his efforts to face what he calls the “radical left”, which he blame for political violence.

“We are going to go out and we are going to do a large number of these people in Portland,” said Trump on Thursday in the oval office. He called these “professional and anarchist agitators” people.

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Megerian reported to Washington. The writers of the Associated Press Konstantin Toropin in Washington, Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, and Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis contributed.