Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday for what she called “dangerous” comments after the California Democrat nicknamed federal law enforcement officers who protect the federal property in Portland “stormtroopers”.
“One is disgusting, two is an assault on all federal or civil or state or local law enforcement officers who have sworn an oath to protect their communities, to protect, in our case, federal facilities, to do their job and I think it’s very, very dangerous, “Wolf said in the Fox News” United States Press Room “.
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DHS had deployed federal police to protect federal property earlier this month after weeks of protests and riots in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. Law enforcement officers have been attacked, harassed, and possibly blinded by riot-wielding lasers while protecting properties like the Hatfield federal court.
But the Trump administration has faced criticism for its handling of the riots, and Democrats and others accused it of excessive use of force. Both Justice Department and Justice Department inspectors general opened investigations Thursday into the conduct of their agencies.
Pelosi has been a vocal critic of the federal response, accusing “unidentified” officers of protesters of “kidnapping” (a claim that DHS denies). On Thursday, he again described the police as “stormtroopers.”
“The use of stormtroopers under the pretext of law and order is a tactic that is not appropriate for our country in any way,” he said.
Wolf, in response, said the statement was “absurd” and that the police enforced laws passed by members of Congress, such as Pelosi.
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“The fact that you will call any law enforcement, be it ‘stormtroopers’, we have heard them referred to as ‘thugs’ or ‘Gestapo’, that is absolutely absurd,” he said. “They are enforcing the law, they are enforcing the law passed by Congress, passed by people like President Pelosi and others, who have voted on legislation that gives the Department of Homeland Security the authority to protect federal facilities and make arrests against people who are attacking, criminal acts directed at federal facilities and federal law enforcement officers
“Maybe it’s a topic of conversation.” He said: “The reasons for doing it are unknown to me, but it is very, very dangerous.”
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Wolf and others at DHS have indicated that they have no intention of withdrawing from Portland, despite pressure from the city’s mayor, who was booed and attacked by protesters the night before. Wolf said that currently a federal withdrawal would result in protesters setting fire to the Hatfield courthouse.
“What we are doing is a specific mission, protecting the federal court and other federal properties,” he said. “What we know is that these violent criminals … operate between midnight and 5 a.m. every morning and their number one objective is to destroy that building and set it on fire.”
