Trump orders troops to “War ravaged Portland” | Fed Judge says not so fast

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Maybe Hegseth will tell them at his all hands meeting on Tuesday?

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So they went to LA and DC in an attempt to provoke a reaction. They didn’t get what they wanted and figured Portland will do the trick.

Authoritarianism plain and simple.

The crazy thing is that it isn’t really clear what the proper reaction should be. If you do nothing it is just a signal that nobody will stand up. Even a peaceful protest could turn into a clash if the forces want it to happen.

Look at what happened at the White House before Trump’s trip to the church. (The point of that was to brutalize the protesters. The trip to the church was merely an excuse to do it.) Anyway, right wing media portrayed that as a riot by the protesters.
 
So they went to LA and DC in an attempt to provoke a reaction. They didn’t get what they wanted and figured Portland will do the trick.

Authoritarianism plain and simple.

The crazy thing is that it isn’t really clear what the proper reaction should be. If you do nothing it is just a signal that nobody will stand up. Even a peaceful protest could turn into a clash if the forces want it to happen.

Look at what happened at the White House before Trump’s trip to the church. (The point of that was to brutalize the protesters. The trip to the church was merely an excuse to do it.) Anyway, right wing media portrayed that as a riot by the protesters.
Fox and other right-wing media have become absolute masters of knowing how to stoke the primal fears and prejudices of their MAGA base. They hate and fear big cities and have been raised being told that they're full of crime and minority and immigrant criminals, so now Trump is feeding that belief by sending the military and ICE to "clean up" those criminal elements. And if the good people in these cities resist either peacefully or violently, then so much the better. Fox & Company will turn even a peaceful protest into an armed mob of violent un-American minorities and immigrants and snooty white college Democrats resisting decent cops and ICE and our brave soldiers, and the call will go up for even more direct federal (Trumper) control of these cities. MAGA just owning those libs (and the Bill of Rights), baby!
 
“… Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that “President Trump and Secretary Noem are taking action to restore law and order following weeks of violent riots at ICE facilities, assaults on law enforcement, and the terrorist attack at our ICE facility in Dallas.”

She added: “We are not going to allow domestic terrorists to attack our law enforcement.”

The shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas this week that killed one detainee and critically injured two others has left the agency particularly sensitive to any potential security problems at its facilities. The F.B.I. said it was investigating the attack as “an act of targeted violence.”

Mr. Trump signed an executive order this week targeting antifa, a loosely defined left-wing antifascist movement. He threatened “investigatory and prosecutorial action” against those who financially support it.

In his order, Mr. Trump said that he was declaring antifa a “domestic terrorist organization” — a designation that does not actually exist under U.S. law. Anti-fascism, like fascism itself, is a broad political ideology rather than a specific organization, and the United States does not have a domestic terrorism law.…”

 
“… Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that “President Trump and Secretary Noem are taking action to restore law and order following weeks of violent riots at ICE facilities, assaults on law enforcement, and the terrorist attack at our ICE facility in Dallas.”

She added: “We are not going to allow domestic terrorists to attack our law enforcement.”

The shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas this week that killed one detainee and critically injured two others has left the agency particularly sensitive to any potential security problems at its facilities. The F.B.I. said it was investigating the attack as “an act of targeted violence.”

Mr. Trump signed an executive order this week targeting antifa, a loosely defined left-wing antifascist movement. He threatened “investigatory and prosecutorial action” against those who financially support it.

In his order, Mr. Trump said that he was declaring antifa a “domestic terrorist organization” — a designation that does not actually exist under U.S. law. Anti-fascism, like fascism itself, is a broad political ideology rather than a specific organization, and the United States does not have a domestic terrorism law.…”

“… Since July, the Department of Homeland Security has been focused on protesters outside an ICE facility in Portland, saying that month that the site was “under siege.”

… Demonstrators have been camped outside the ICE building near the Willamette River in southwest Portland for several months, rarely numbering more than two dozen. Brief, isolated skirmishes have broken out between protesters and federal law enforcement, but they have been confined to a few blocks in a neighborhood outside the urban core.

… In a news conference Friday night, Portland civic leaders responded to reports of an increased federal presence, urging calm and telling residents that they believed Mr. Trump wanted to bait protesters into violent interactions with law enforcement.

… Portland police officers have been ordered to stay out of the way when federal law enforcement clashes with demonstrators, but to intervene when they see people committing acts of violence or vandalism.

“We’re certainly not on fire,” Bob Day, chief of the Portland Police Bureau, said in an interview this week. “Some of what you are seeing out there just does not accurately reflect what’s happening in this city.”“
 

“… The president’s fixation with Portland — which has a far lower homicide rate than places like Memphis, Washington and Chicago, where Trump has already deployed federal troops or threatened to do so — has as much to do with what the city represents as the protests against ICE currently taking place. The White House views Portland as a useful example in its law-and-order campaign — a city Trump officials can elevate to push forward their message on everything from immigration to crime to far-left violence.

… “It was just the poster city for the problem in 2020,” said a person close to the administration, granted anonymity to speak candidly.

“You get the sanctuary [city] element, you get no National Guard called in by the state, much less the president,” the person said, suggesting the president won’t be restrained this time with the military. “There’s a lot of factors that make Portland a useful analytical point.”

The protests in Portland at a federal ICE field office have been on the White House’s radar for weeks, said a White House official granted anonymity to discuss the administration’s thinking.

The demonstrations peaked in June, devolving into a riot with police making arrests and issuing a riot declaration. Since then, protests have continued daily, a mixture of larger, peaceful daytime protests and smaller, sometimes hostile groups coming out after dark.

… In recent weeks, Trump has made statements about the protests in Portland that marry facts from 2020 with the current situation. On Friday, he said protesters have tried to burn down federal buildings and that people have died at these protests. He also accused all the protesters of being professional agitators and anarchists.

There have been no fatalities at protests this year — though there were during the 2020 protests. One far-right protester associated with the group Patriot Prayer was shot and killed during dueling protests in August 2020, for example. There was one attempt to start a fire at the office this summer, according to a city news release, but it was put out before causing major damage.…”
 
“… The president’s fixation with Portland — which has a far lower homicide rate than places like Memphis, Washington and Chicago, where Trump has already deployed federal troops or threatened to do so — has as much to do with what the city represents as the protests against ICE currently taking place. The White House views Portland as a useful example in its law-and-order campaign — a city Trump officials can elevate to push forward their message on everything from immigration to crime to far-left violence.

… “It was just the poster city for the problem in 2020,” said a person close to the administration, granted anonymity to speak candidly.

“You get the sanctuary [city] element, you get no National Guard called in by the state, much less the president,” the person said, suggesting the president won’t be restrained this time with the military. “There’s a lot of factors that make Portland a useful analytical point.”

The protests in Portland at a federal ICE field office have been on the White House’s radar for weeks, said a White House official granted anonymity to discuss the administration’s thinking.

The demonstrations peaked in June, devolving into a riot with police making arrests and issuing a riot declaration. Since then, protests have continued daily, a mixture of larger, peaceful daytime protests and smaller, sometimes hostile groups coming out after dark.

… In recent weeks, Trump has made statements about the protests in Portland that marry facts from 2020 with the current situation. On Friday, he said protesters have tried to burn down federal buildings and that people have died at these protests. He also accused all the protesters of being professional agitators and anarchists.

There have been no fatalities at protests this year — though there were during the 2020 protests. One far-right protester associated with the group Patriot Prayer was shot and killed during dueling protests in August 2020, for example. There was one attempt to start a fire at the office this summer, according to a city news release, but it was put out before causing major damage.…”
“… Steve Bannon, the former Trump strategist and War Room podcast host, has called on the White House to declare martial law in a section of Portland to arrest “antifa.”

“Just round them up,” Bannon told POLITICO. “I think you’re going to see, with this terrorist designation, I believe you’re going to see a real increase in federal support.”

But a senior police official at the Portland Police Department, who was granted anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about police operations, said sending in additional federal forces would escalate the situation.…”
 
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