Portland protests: Federal agents use tear gas and batons to disperse ‘Wall of Moms’ group

Federal agents were filmed using tear gas and batons to try to disperse the “Mommy Wall,” a peaceful protest group made up of mothers in Portland, Oregon, where repression of racial justice demonstrations has become increasingly controversial.

The Wall of Moms, many of whom wore yellow shirts and wore masks and other protective gear such as helmets, joined hands in front of federal court Tuesday night.

The images showed federal agents trying to push them back using batons and other forces. Tear gas also engulfed dozens of members of the group, but they still held together as officers pulled them away from the building.

The Moms’ Wall was formed last week in response to growing concerns about the force federal agents were using against protesters in Portland, Oregon. The city has experienced nightly protests for racial justice since police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis in May.

Since then, other Moms Wall chapters have been formed in cities across the country, including St. Louis, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington DC.

These groups were created as concern grew that the Trump administration would send federal officials to other cities to control the protests. Federal officers from the United States Office of Customs and Border Protection, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service and the Federal Protection Service of the Department of Homeland Security are currently deployed to Portland.

Their mandate was to protect federal buildings, but they have been accused of driving unmarked cars and taking people off the street without explanation in recent days. The footage has also shown federal officials continuously using excessive force, including a video of Navy veteran Christopher David beaten with batons and sprayed with tear gas while standing still trying to speak to them.

Donald Trump has defended the deployment of federal officials in Portland, despite the backlash from residents and local officials.

In a shared tweet on Sunday, she stated that the move was not used to harm the city, but instead helped her.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, has for days ordered the immediate elimination of federal troops, calling their deployment “a direct threat to democracy,” but the Trump administration has not moved.

One concern with federal officials coming to cities across the country was that they would only increase violence rather than prevent it, as has been seen in Portland. These officers have no restrictions on the force they can use against protesters, while local police cannot use items such as tear gas on protesters.

Now the Wall of Moms is engaging in an effort to tackle racial injustice while protecting other protesters.

“When you are a mother, you have a primary need to protect children, and not just your children, all children,” said Jennie Vinson, organizer for Wall of Moms. the Washington Post.

Referring to Mr. Floyd’s plea for his late mother as he was killed by police officers, she said: “See an adult man calling and calling his mother; I think it was a moment of transformation for many of us. It’s like: what option do we have but to do this?

The women’s group has become an internet sensation since the images first appeared during the Portland protests on Saturday night.