Trump Says He May Deploy Troops to Portland to ‘Wipe Out’ Protesters
President Donald Trump’s controversial deployment of the National Guard to quell protests across the US against his policies may soon extend to Portland should he make good on his threat to deploy troops.
Trump Threatens Portland Protesters With National Guard Deployment
Following the June 14 ‘No Kings’ rallies that drew thousands of supporters in Oregon, Trump deployed federal troops to Los Angeles, which was a major contributor to the ongoing protests at Portland’s US Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on South Macadam Avenue.
Read also: Blocked By Republicans, Oregon Bill To Limit National Guard Use May Live On By Executive Order.
While the Portland protests have sporadically continued, Trump has been voicing his plans to continue deploying federal law enforcement in other cities.
On Friday, Trump said that protesters had ruined Portland and hinted that he may send the National Guard troops to “wipe them out,” after clashes between protesters and federal agents flared again on September 1, and was given significant airtime by Fox News.
In an interview on the channel Friday, Trump called protesters “paid terrorists,” and said he hadn’t been considering Portland for a troop deployment, but- after learning about the protests on Fox News the previous night, was “going to look at it now.”
Trump said, “When we go there — if we go to Portland, we’re going to wipe them out. They’re going to be gone.”
Trump would have to federalize the troops under the Insurrection Act to deploy the Oregon National Guard, as these troops fall under Gov. Tina Kotek’s command. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a statement Friday that if Trump sends troops into Oregon, his office will not hesitate to take action in court, suggesting that the President stay in his lane.
AG Rayfield said, “Oregon is a safe place, and we intend to keep it that way.”
In June, when the Portland ICE protests were at their height, Mayor Keith Wilson indicated that the city does not need federal intervention.
Despite the spike in homicides homicides during the pandemic, Portland has recorded 25 killings this year, fewer than half the homicides a year ago.