After several days of violent clashes between protesters and Federal Agents, President Donald Trump appears to have bowed to pressure by pulling out the ‘occupying force’ from Portland, Oregon.
On Wednesday morning, Governor Kate Brown posted a tweet that agents from federal border patrol and immigration agencies, which fall under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security, would begin withdrawal on Thursday {today}.
“After my discussions with VP Mike Pence and others, the federal government has agreed to withdraw federal officers from Portland. They have acted as an occupying force and brought violence. Starting tomorrow, all Customs and Border Protection & ICE officers will leave downtown Portland” she tweeted.
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After my discussions with VP Pence and others, the federal government has agreed to withdraw federal officers from Portland. They have acted as an occupying force & brought violence. Starting tomorrow, all Customs and Border Protection & ICE officers will leave downtown Portland.
— Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) July 29, 2020
The Trump administration had been in the eye of the storm after accusations emerged that President Trump was deploying paramilitary forces in violation of the US constitution, partly as a tactic in his provocative “law and order” re-election campaign.
Recall that the federal government had deployed teams of agents, at times heavily armed and clad in camouflage, to the Portland protests, drawing criticism from Democrats and civil liberties groups who allege excessive force and federal overreach.
Brown and Portland’s mayor, both Democrats, have complained they never asked for the federal agents and their presence was worsening the situation with protesters.
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Tuesday night was the 62nd consecutive night of protests in downtown Portland and the 28th night of confrontations with federal officers. The demonstrations began, in tune with scores of other cities around America, in the wake of the death in police custody of George Floyd as a statement about police brutality.
But on 1 July, the nature of the events started to shift when federal forces began to gather more visibly around the US courthouse. The forces, led by agents of border patrol, acted ostensibly to protect federal property but as the confrontation intensified were criticized for acting like paramilitary forces including arresting protesters and placing them in unmarked vans.
