Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Chad Wolf, on Tuesday refuted criticism from presumed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden that “Homeland Security agents” are “brutally attacking peaceful protesters” without “a mandate or clearly defined authority “in Portland.
“I would say it is an absolutely absurd statement,” Wolf said in “The Story with Martha MacCallum” regarding Biden’s criticism. “We have clear authority. We summarize that on several occasions, the Federal Protection Service, part of the Department of Homeland Security, protects more than 9,000, almost 9,000 federal facilities across the country. They do so in Portland.”
CURRENT DHS SECRETARY HITS AGAIN IN PORTLAND MAYOR’S “COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE” CLAIMS THAT THE FEDS ARE “SCALING” THE DISMISSAL
Portland has been hit on occasion by violent protests for 52 days in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. This month, in response to ongoing violence against federal property and monuments, DHS rolled out federal law enforcement in the city.
There have been cases and reports of federal officials arresting criminal activity suspects and putting them in unmarked cars. It has sparked outrage from Democrats and even some Republicans, who have accused law enforcement of being violent and illegal.
Wolf dismissed the criticism at a press conference Tuesday saying “we will not withdraw.”
The secretary criticized local officials and radical elements who inflame the violence.
“Portland is the only city where we have this radical violence. Night after night, we are on our 52nd night of violence against that court, against other federal facilities and federal law enforcement officers who would say we don’t have this problem anywhere else. because we have local officials and local police working with us to protect our facilities, “said Wolf.
“Portland is different and we have to respond differently because of that. So again, I would say work with us. We can quell this violence. We can bring this to a peaceful conclusion and allow those peaceful protesters who want to protest to do that peacefully when cross the line into violence. That’s when we have to take a stand. “
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Wolf also disagreed with the idea that federal officials were not identifying themselves.
“It is very clear and very visible that they are police officers. They say that the Department of Homeland Security in some cases, in other cases, Customs and Border Protection or ICE say that we have some officers there,” Wolf said. “It is very clear that these are uniformed federal officers […] Whoever says otherwise is just a topic of conversation. And it’s just not, I don’t agree with that. “
Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
