Federal agents asked to leave as Portland protests continue

By Gillian Flaccus / Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. — With unrest continuing, the federal government is coming under increasing scrutiny for the activities of agents trying to clamp down on protests in Oregon’s largest city — demonstrations that President Donald Trump says are led by “anarchists and agitators.”

Protesters outside Portland’s U.S. courthouse set a fire in the building’s entryway early Monday, part of yet another night of conflict with federal agents who repeatedly tear-gassed the demonstrators to drive them away, officials said.

The latest unrest happened as local and state leaders expressed anger with the presence of the federal agents, saying the city’s protests had started to ease just as the federal agents started taking action on the streets of Portland.

Authorities over the weekend erected large fences around the building in an effort to keep away the protesters who have been on Portland’s streets daily since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis nearly two months ago.

But video posted online showed demonstrators taking down the fencing. And a statement from Portland’s city police department described the protesters’ tactics as they repeatedly headed toward the courthouse and were repelled by federal agents who emerged from inside.

Hundreds of protesters were at the scene Sunday night into Monday morning. At one point, “dozens of people with shields, helmets, gas masks, umbrellas, bats, and hockey sticks approached the doors” of the courthouse until federal officers came out and dispersed them, the Portland police statement said.

The protesters later lit a fire at about 1:30 a.m. Monday within the portico of the courthouse, said Portland police. The department said its officers were not involved in any crowd-control measures, did not fire tear gas and “were not present during any of the activity described.”

Other people added wood and debris to the fire to make it larger. Federal agents came out of the courthouse, “dispersed the crowd and extinguished the fire,” the statement said.

Speaking on CNN’s ‘State of the Union,’ Portland’s Democratic Mayor said federal officers “are not wanted here.”

“We haven’t asked them here. In fact, we want them to leave,” Ted Wheeler said.

On Friday, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum sued Homeland Security and the Marshals Service in federal court, alleging that unidentified federal agents grabbed people from Portland’s streets “without warning or explanation, without a warrant, and without providing any way to determine who is directing this action.”

Rosenblum said she was seeking a temporary restraining order to “immediately stop federal authorities from unlawfully detaining Oregonians.”

Top leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives said Sunday they were “alarmed” by the Trump administration’s tactics against protesters in Portland and other cities, including Washington, D.C. They’ve called on federal inspectors general to investigate.

“This is a matter of utmost urgency,” they wrote in a letter to the inspectors general of the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.

The signers were three leading Democrats: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-New York; Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson, D-Mississippi; and Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney, D-New York.

The Democratic lawmakers are seeking an investigation “into the use of federal law enforcement agencies by the Attorney General and the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security to suppress First Amendment protected activities in Washington, D.C., Portland, and other communities across the United States.”

President Donald Trump has decried the demonstrations. His Homeland Security secretary, Chad Wolf, labeled the protesters “lawless anarchists” during a visit to the city last Thursday.

“We are trying to help Portland, not hurt it,” Trump tweeted Sunday. “Their leadership has, for months, lost control of the anarchists and agitators. They are missing in action. We must protect Federal property, AND OUR PEOPLE. These were not merely protesters, these are the real deal!”

We are trying to help Portland, not hurt it. Their leadership has, for months, lost control of the anarchists and agitators. They are missing in action. We must protect Federal property, AND OUR PEOPLE. These were not merely protesters, these are the real deal!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2020

Late Saturday, Portland police said protesters broke into the building of the Portland Police Association labor union that represents officers. Dumpster fires were also set and fencing was moved and transformed into barricades, police said.

It was not immediately clear whether anyone was arrested or detained during the protest that started Sunday night.