Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said President Donald Trump has no idea what is happening in his city, adding that the Trump administration’s tactics in the area “are abhorrent.”
“Well, the president has a complete misunderstanding of cause and effect,” Wheeler said in response to Trump’s tweet Sunday morning about Portland. “What is happening here is that we have dozens, if not hundreds of federal troops descending on our city. And what they are doing is that they are intensifying the situation.”
“Your presence here is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism,” he continued. “And it is not helping the situation at all. They are not wanted here. We have not asked for them here. In fact, we want them to leave.”
The president, earlier Sunday, tweeted that his administration is “trying to help Portland, not hurt it.”
“His leadership has for months lost control of anarchists and agitators,” he wrote. “They’re not in action. We must protect federal property, AND OUR PEOPLE. These were not just protesters, they are the real deal!”
The tweet comes as the growing federal presence in Portland has come under intense scrutiny after videos posted online showing agents, who were not clearly identified, transporting protesters in unmarked trucks. The videos on social media also showed camouflaged federal officials pointing guns and using smoke at protesters.
Portland has seen sustained protests since the George Floyd police murder in May. Portland police said protesters attempted to set fire and beat police with bottles and other objects on Thursday. American attorney in Portland Billy J. Williams said Friday that federal buildings have been besieged by protesters and that federal agents in the city are protecting taxpayers’ property.
Speaking on Sunday, Wheeler said he believes the Trump administration is breaking the law with the use of a federal police force in his city.
“The tactics that the Trump administration is using on the streets of Portland are abhorrent,” he said. “Apparently, people are being taken off the street in unmarked vans, rental cars, apparently. They are denied probable cause and denied due process.”
“They don’t even know who’s putting them in the trucks,” he continued. “People don’t identify themselves. And as far as I can see, this is completely unconstitutional.”
Wheeler said he and other top Oregon officials are lobbying the administration to “remove these people from our city.”
“They are not helping us. They are hurting us,” he said. “They are intensifying an already dangerous situation. And what I want to do is raise awareness at the national level. This could happen in your city. And what we are seeing is a flagrant abuse of police tactics by the federal government, by a that Trump administration is falling in the polls. And this is a direct threat to our democracy. “
He said that before federal agents arrived, the violence and vandalism linked to the protests had decreased significantly.
“Our local and state law enforcement officials had contained the situation,” Wheeler said. “The energy was coming out of the protests. We hoped they would end in a matter of days. And what happened instead is that the federal troops entered. They used their unconstitutional tactics. They injured non-violent protesters, and everything exploded. Again like a barrel. of gunpowder. “
Wheeler expressed fear that a resident or local or state law enforcement officer “will be killed” due to the efforts of the Trump administration.
Democratic members of the Oregon congressional delegation said Friday they will demand a federal investigation into the situation, saying the deployment of federal officials has inflamed tensions and prompted violent clashes and questionable arrests. Oregon Governor Kate Brown, a Democrat, has asked federal officials to leave Portland.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum sued the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies on Friday for the deployment. The American Civil Liberties Union also filed a lawsuit on Friday to protect journalists from police tactics.
A US Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told NBC News that his agents have been to Portland to protect federal facilities following Trump’s executive order to protect monuments and other government assets.
On Sunday, Trump tweeted that Democrats “will destroy our country as we know it.”
“Unimaginably bad things would happen to the United States,” he said of whether he loses this fall. “Look Portland, where the politicians are fine with 50 days of lawlessness. We send aid. Look at New York, Chicago, Philadelphia. NO!”
