Ted Wheeler, the mayor of Portland, Oregon, alleges that federal authorities are escalating tensions with protesters in the city. Portland has been the site of nightly Black Lives Matter protests since the May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. President Donald Trump has doubled down on a message of “law and order,” sending federal agencies to detain and intimidate protesters.
Many protesters in the city have described the forces as “Trump’s secret police,” noting that they wear drab fatigues and simple “police” patches. Their vehicles are unmarked. Many of them are wearing masks. Protesters have been detained without stated cause and held by forces that don’t identify themselves. Meanwhile, House Democrats are seething, demanding a formal investigation into the matter.
The federal agencies in Portland, the Department of Homeland Security as well as Border Patrol, have been sent to the city by the Trump administration. This is part of the president’s authoritarian strategy to clamp down on protests, Mayor Wheeler alleges. “They are not wanted here, we have not asked them here, and in fact, we want them to leave,” Wheeler told CNN.
Trump, on the other hand, insists that the forces should stay. On Twitter, he alleged that he had no intention of hurting Portland, only wishing to help. Democrats accuse Trump of continuing to focus on images of looters stealing small flat-screen televisions and burning businesses, instead of the reality of the peaceful protests in Portland.
Democratic Representatives in the House have been outraged over the president’s use of federal authorities in Portland. Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has described the situation as “alarming”. Nadler is among the House Democrats demanding an immediate federal investigation into the matter.
Given that Democrats have the majority in the House, it’s likely that such an investigation will be materializing shortly. Meanwhile, the president continues to test the boundaries of executive power. Using federal authorities to detain protesters is likely unconstitutional. At least, that’s what the ACLU alleges in a suit brought against the Trump Administration.
The question remains: why is Trump only now using these forces to clamp down on peaceful protests? Some speculate that the president’s slipping approval rating has him desperate for a “win”. By targeting a peaceful protest with heavy-handed policing, perhaps the president is trying to craft the image of an anarchist mob that he is the only defense against.
Meanwhile, his election opponent Joe Biden leads him in national polls by an average of 11 points.
