A tactical team of border agents deployed to Seattle last week to help protect federal property left the city, officials said Tuesday.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said she was informed by the Department of Homeland Security about the move. The Special Response Team was dispatched to the city last week as the Trump administration continues to defend the federal government’s intervention in an effort to restore law and order amid ongoing protests in various cities.
“@DHSgov notified me that the federal forces deployed to Seattle demobilized and left,” Durkan tweeted. “The president’s actions to attack Democratic cities with federal forces are chilling and increase violence in Portland, Seattle and other cities, exactly what the president intended.
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In a follow-up tweet, Durkan said police decisions should be made by Police Chief Carmen Best, not by President Trump. Agents were deployed to Seattle to protect federal property in the wake of the riots after weeks of protests and the occupation of a so-called autonomous protest zone where police officers and other first responders were denied entry.
In his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Attorney General Bill Barr stated that “violent rioters and anarchists” have hijacked legitimate protests, while especially mentioning the ongoing unrest in Portland, Oregon, where clashes have occurred between the protesters and Black Lives Matter authorities. night.
Durkan, along with other mayors of large cities, has denounced the presence of federal agents in his jurisdiction. Opponents argue that the alleged harsh tactics used by federal agents have only increased tensions between protesters and authorities.
The move, they said, was done without the consent or consultation of state and local officials.
“The president’s actions to attack Democratic cities through the use of federal forces are chilling and increase violence in Portland, Seattle (and) other cities, exactly what the president wanted,” Durkan wrote in another tweet.
Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, also praised the withdrawal of federal forces.
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“That means Washingtonians no longer have to worry about the White House’s goal of sparking confrontations and undermining peaceful protests,” he tweeted.
Over the weekend, a total of 80 Seattle police officers were injured, and one required hospitalization, according to local and city reports. Other injuries included bruising, abrasions, burns, and a torn meniscus, but many officers were able to return to work. Some rioters set fire to a portable trailer and threw an explosive device at a police compound, while authorities used explosive balls, rounds of sponge and OC spray to disperse protesters.
About 50 people were arrested.
Fox News’ Ronn Blitzer and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
