Federal agencies active in Portland say that they are protecting the Hatfield Federal Courthouse and nearby facilities in the city’s downtown. Nonetheless, many state and local officials in Colorado and elsewhere have incorrectly described the recent proposal as an effort to send in “paramilitary forces” (or even the military) to quash lawful demonstrations.

Armed federal agents are patrolling the streets of Portland against the wishes of local leaders, and the president refuses to guarantee that he won’t contest the official results of the election.
Portland police officers clashed with demonstrators before federal agents arrived to protect the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. And in "This Is How Authoritarians Get Defeated," MoJo's Monika Bauerlein unpacks six truths to remember during the homestretch of an election where democracy, truth, and decency are on the line. Now, let’s talk about Portland. “I offered them DHS support to help them locally address the situation that’s going on in Portland, and their only response was: ‘Please pack up and go home,'” he said Friday on Fox News. The U.S.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners. Email us at onpolitics@nytimes.com. has exploded in recent months. It's us but for your ears. Portland Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis has said his department did not request federal assistance and is not coordinating with the federal officers. Pettibone, who said he did nothing illegal and didn’t know why he was detained, recounted being taken to a building he later learned was Oregon’s federal courthouse, where he was Mirandized and searched. Demonstrators have also decried the use of excess force by police, and law enforcement has responded to many protests by using force.

senators and governors have begun sidestepping the president, put out a restrained — if slightly grammatically challenged — statement, Marco Rubio of Florida and Dan Sullivan of Alaska put up elegantly worded tributes. All market data delayed 20 minutes. Feds stay clear. Heightening tensions during the protest is the presence of federal law enforcement agents. Others allege instances of excessive use of force by officers staged around federal buildings. The lawsuit says the agents violated the civil rights of Oregon residents by using unlawful tactics. That is very different than what is being done in Portland to protect federal employees and property. On Politics is also available as a newsletter. According to the head of the Customs and Border Patrol, all of their agents wear multiple insignia designating them as police or identifying their agency, and these agents have strict protocols limiting arrests to those engaging in direct violence against federal employees or federal property in and around the federal courthouse. Three federal agents who were sent to Portland, Ore., to try to help quell the city’s violent protests were “likely left permanently blinded” from clashes, White House officials said Friday.
This makes a kind of political sense: Polls show that restrictions on vote-by-mail could end up hurting Democrats more than Republicans. As Colorado’s U.S. attorney, my job is to protect Coloradans by enforcing federal criminal law. It's enraging, and since it happened during our fall fundraising drive, we hope the Mother Jones community will stand up for our fearless journalism and send a message with a donation to support it today. But their supposed authority to police Oregon’s largest city and make arrests appears to rest on a June 26 executive order by President Donald Trump calling for the protection of statues, monuments, and federal property. Unfortunately, the size and scale of the violence has so overwhelmed the men and women ordinarily tasked with protecting those employees and buildings that they have asked for help from Washington. Listen on Apple Podcasts. support to help them locally address the situation that’s going on in Portland, and their only response was: ‘Please pack up and go home,'” he. Both were accompanied by pictures of themselves, not alongside Lewis but with Elijah Cummings, another long-serving Black member of the House, who died last year. We're a nonprofit (so it's tax-deductible), and reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget.

On Thursday, a CBP spokesperson said the agency would not “disclose specifics about our personnel deployed as it could jeopardize operational security.” But the spokesperson said that Border Patrol agents in Portland do have authority to “conduct arrests for offenses committed in their presence.”, “Border Patrol agents have been deployed to Portland in direct support of the Presidential Executive Order and the newly established DHS Protecting American Communities Task Force,” the spokesperson said. In a statement Friday, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that it detained a protester but disputed accounts that it did so without reason. When Mother Jones asked the Homeland Security Department for details of what DHS agents are doing in the city, a spokesperson sent a press release in which acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf described nearly 100 incidents allegedly perpetrated by “violent anarchists”—mostly vandalism of the courthouse and other federal buildings. The agency, which did not name Pettibone, said agents had information about a person suspected of assaulting federal agents or destroying federal property. And in the very small number of cases where agents have been accused of acting outside their authority, those incidents are being reviewed by the Inspector General for the respective agencies. 1 issue confronting the nation preferred Biden over Trump. All Rights Reserved. But he was just as quick to make it clear last week that he did not want federal officers getting involved in the situation. "The Department of Homeland Security will not back down from our legal duty to protect federal law enforcement officers and properties in the face of such criminal behavior," he continued. Is there anything you think we’re missing? An ABC News/Washington Post poll out yesterday found that, by a 20-percentage-point margin, Americans said they trusted Joe Biden over Trump to handle the pandemic. (A typical example: “Violent anarchists graffitied the Hatfield Courthouse.”) The list also included allegations that protesters pointed lasers at officers to blind them; threw rocks and shot fireworks at the courthouse; and committed assault. He said that after he declined to answer questions and asked for a lawyer, the interview ended and he was released after 90 minutes with no explanation or paperwork. The result has been widespread confusion about both. Cities across the United States saw clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement similar to those in Portland. Mark Pettibone, who the Washington Post identified as the protester referenced in the CBP statement, has said he was detained without cause. “We’re operating in a very, very close proximity to one another, sometimes within the area of a city block. Agents from US Marshals Service, Federal Protective Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been in Portland since early this month. Portland has been invaded by federal agents—including unidentified, camouflage-clad officers who have emerged from unmarked minivans to arrest protesters. Federal officers often respond by firing tear gas, pepper balls, and impact munitions. Demonstrators have reported that officers dressed in camouflage fatigues have ambushed them and thrown them into vans without telling them why were being arrested or detained.