The sheriff, Mike Reese, warned Mr Schmidt in an email that some Protestants were bent on “starting fires, damage to property and attacks by police, members of the community”, adding, “they may be able to do even more “if they are a public statement that appears to minimize their activities.” In response to one of the sheriff’s concerns, Mr Schmidt said he had revised the policy of pursuing green light for insurgency in cases where ‘ t a suspect was charged with serious crimes.
The Oregon State Police also filed for divorce from Mr. Schmidt when troopers withdrew after a two-week commitment to the protests this month, saying they would rather place resources in “counties where prosecution of criminal behavior is still a priority.” The governor, Kate Brown, a Democrat who endorsed Mr Schmidt, made it clear on Twitter that the State Police had always planned to withdraw after two weeks, and that they could be sent back if necessary.
Since protests erupted across the country following the assassination of Mr. Floyd in police terms, Mr. Trump has promised to send federal agents to cities, where he said liberal leaders did not do a sufficient job of maintaining peace. In Portland, federal officers who were dispatched over the city’s objections engaged in almost nocturnal conflict with protesters at the downtown downtown courthouse, with protesters attaching fireworks, water bottles and other objects to agents, who often react with tear gas and wide arrests.
Only the federal government’s agreement for a conditional withdrawal restored a measure of stability, although Protestants turned their attention back to the local police.
Portland’s betrayal of Mr. Trump is not necessarily over: On Wednesday, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told Fox News that “it looks like we should” send federal agents back to the city. Last week, federal officers, who had not completely left the city, clashed with Protestants for the first time since July. The opening of the Republican National Convention this week gives Mr. Trump and his allies another chance to attack the city’s response to the demonstrations.
Mr. Schmidt began his journey to the district attorney’s office by teaching at a public high school in New Orleans, where all of his students were black. The experience had a profound effect on him.
He recalls one student, a 14-year-old accused of possession of marijuana, who escaped punishment only because a camera on video captured an officer planting drugs. And he once asked students if they wanted to go to college. Wagons raised their hands, as others explained that, with the escalating gun violence in the city, they were killed by 22 or 23.
