Senator Ted Cruz unleashed Democrats on Saturday for “facilitating and encouraging” violent protests in Portland, which he compared to cities that have experienced deadly clashes in Iraq and Lebanon.
Cruz, a Texas Republican, retweeted a graphic video that purports to show activists from Antifa and Black Live Matter attacking federal court in Portland Friday night.
“This is not Fallujah. This is not Beirut. This is America,” Cruz tweeted. “And Democratic politicians are facilitating and encouraging them.”
THE LAWYER OF THE UNITED STATES REQUESTS THAT THE PROBE BE INACTIVE BY THE FEDERAL FIST OF ALLIES OF PORTLAND; DHS PRINCIPAL PROMISES “WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP”
Protests against systemic racism and police brutality have been a nightly feature in deeply liberal Portland since the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd while in police custody on May 25. President Trump denounced the disorder and Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf criticized protesters as “lawless” anarchists “on a visit to the city, helping to make clashes between police and protesters a national focus.
PORTLAND, OREGON, USA: Police confront protesters as demonstrated by supporters of the Black Lives Matter in Portland, Oregon, on July 4, 2020, at the Portland Justice Center and throughout Portland, with a riot declared around 12.20 pm on July 5. CS tear gas and fewer lethal weapons were used and multiple arrests were made. (Photo by John Rudoff / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The administration has enlisted federal agents, including the US Marshals Special Operations Group and an elite team of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) based at the US border but Oregon Public Broadcasting reported this week that some officers had been driving in unidentified vans and snatching protesters from streets that were not near federal property, without identifying themselves.
Tensions also escalated after a Marshal Service officer fired a less deadly round at the head of a protester on July 11, seriously injuring him.
As violence in the city escalates, liberal mayors engage in social media disputes with Trump officials
The agents’ actions have sparked outrage from elected officials and civil liberties groups, and Mayor Ted Wheeler demanded at a press conference on Friday: “Keep your troops in your own buildings, or have them leave our city “
Democratic Governor Kate Brown said Trump is seeking a confrontation in hopes of earning political points elsewhere and distracting himself from his widely criticized response to the coronavirus pandemic.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said Trump had deployed “stormtroopers” in the city and called for the end of the Department of Homeland Security mission.
But Cruz responded to Pelosi’s criticism.
“Policemen are not stormtroopers. Arrests are not kidnappings. ANTIFA terrorists are not protesters,” he tweeted Saturday. “Democrats are making the cynical political decision to support violent criminals trying to destroy the United States.”
Meanwhile, the fighting continues.
Militarized federal agents deployed by Trump in Portland fired tear gas at protesters again overnight, when the city’s mayor demanded that the agents be removed and the state attorney general promised to seek a restraining order against them.
DHS ACCUSES PORTLAND OFFICERS OF ENABLING ‘MOB’, PUBLISHES DAMAGE SCHEDULE OF ‘VIOLENT ANARCHISTS’
Federal agents, some in camouflage and others in dark Homeland Security uniforms, used tear gas at least twice to separate the crowds on Friday night, The Oregonian / OregonLive reported.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum also sued Homeland Security and the Marshals Service in federal court on Friday night. The complaint alleges that unidentified federal agents have captured people from the streets of Portland “without warning or explanation, without a court order, and without providing any way to determine who is leading this action.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
