Acting Assistant Secretary for Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli on Monday criticized Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul for what he called “uninformed” claims about the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) response to the Portland riots.
“I’m disappointed with this uninformed tweet from a senator I respect. Truisms mixed with mistakes abound, ”Cuccinelli tweeted at the beginning of a thread.
DHS HEAD PROMISES ‘WE WILL NOT WITHDRAW’ FROM PORTLAND DESPITE CRITICISM, SAYS FOREIGNERS ‘FIND ANOTHER LINE OF WORK’
In response to reports that federal agents had been rampaging with protesters on the streets of Portland, Paul said, “Local police can and should be handling these situations in our cities, but there is no place for federal troops or federal agents. Unidentified people stop people at will. “
DHS has come under intense criticism for its approach to the protests and riots in the liberal city, which have continued for more than 50 days and have seen some law enforcement officers attacked and injured, as well as courts and other damaged federal buildings and destroyed.
But much of the criticism from Democrats and others has focused on the police response, which they say has been harsh. In particular, they point to cases of protesters who were taken from the streets by what has been described as unidentified federal agents, although DHS has repeatedly denied this latest claim.
Cuccinelli said Paul’s tweet “overlooks the fact that local police in Portland are not ‘handling these situations’ and that ‘these situations’ include attacks on federal OFFICERS (not troops) and federal facilities.”
He also questioned the claim that the officers were not identified, saying they were identified as police and as DHS officers. However, the videos shared on social media by Portland activists show federal agents refusing to identify themselves.
Cuccinelli called the claim that officers are “arresting people at will” as an “incredibly offensive claim” and offered details about an instance of a suspect who was detained.
“They identified 3 blocks from the subject, at which point he fled on foot and the officers chased him until he stopped running in federal court. Officers spoke to this particular individual because they thought it matched the description of a person who had assaulted a law enforcement officer approximately an hour earlier, ”he said.
He went on to say that DHS officers and agents are preserving freedom (and life and property) in Portland. I would have loved to explain that to Senator @RandPaul if he had asked. ”
Cuccinelli’s tweets mark another instance of DHS’s response to the criticism he faced for his response to the Portland riots. Acting Secretary Chad Wolf on Tuesday rejected the agency’s criticism and said he would not “withdraw” from Portland.
“If you are a violent troublemaker seeking to inflict damage on federal property or law enforcement, you must find another line of work,” Wolf said at a press conference. “We will not withdraw, we will continue to protect our facilities and our law enforcement officers.”
