The White House cast aside protests from local government officials Tuesday about the deployment of armed federal officers to quell protes...
The White House cast aside protests from local government officials Tuesday about the deployment of armed federal officers to quell protests inside cities that say they don't want assistance as President Trump demands 'law and order.'
The administration is planning to send 150 federal agents to combat violence in Chicago, but for now is not saying which agency they will come from or what their mission will be.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany provided a legal justification for sending Homeland Security officials to Portland, pointing to a statute that allows the feds to deputize officials to protect federal property, following a clash at a federal courthouse in Portland.
But she did not state what legal authority Trump would exercise to dispatch 150 federal agents to Chicago – among a handful of cities experiencing violent crime where Trump said he would insert federal forces, despite angry pushback from Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
'It's egregious what's happening,' McEnany said, rattling off a number of incidents where people who joined protests have thrown objects at officers.
'President Trump is taking action in Portland, even though you have a Democrat mayor and Democrat governor unwilling to work with us in the situation. We are surging resources along with secretary [Chad] Wolf at DHS and augmenting the federal protective service to safeguard federal property,' she said.
'It's egregious what's happening,' White House press secretary McEnany said, rattling off a number of incidents where people who joined protests have thrown objects at officers.
BY THE BOOK: McEnany pointed to a section of the U.S. code allowing agents to be deputized to protect a federal building
Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot blasted 'militarized assistance' she did not request
'The bottom line is that this president stands with law in order which leads to peace and we will not allow Portland to become the new CHOP like what we saw in Seattle,' she said, pointing to the self-declared autonomous zone that police broke up after Trump threatened to use federal force.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blasted the decision after Trump said at the White House Monday he would be sending federal agents to her city.
'What we do not need, and what will certainly make our community less safe is secret, federal agents deployed to Chicago,' she wrote. 'Any other form of militarized assistance within our borders that would not be within our control or within the direct command of the Chicago Police Department would spell disaster.'
Lightfoot added: 'As any law enforcement official will tell you, what is needed more than anything in an operation to protect lives is a clear mission, a detailed operations plan, and a chain of command Secret, federal agents who do not know Chicago, are unfamiliar with the unique circumstances of our neighborhoods and who would operate outside the established infrastructure of local law enforcement would not be effective, regardless of the number, and worse will foment a massive wave of opposition.'
New York City's Police Commissioner, Dermot Shea, also rejected the offer.
'I think we have the resources, I do. We have a lot of obstacles right now. If people want to get the courts open in New York City, that would help. That would help me immeasurably,' Shea told CNN. 'But in terms of resources, we have the resources.'
The NYPD has more than 30,000 officers and its own intelligence unit.
McEnany began her briefing Tuesday by describing mayhem on the streets in Portland, as Trump campaigns on restoring 'law and order.'
'Individuals have thrown bricks chunks of concrete glass bottles feces, balloons filled with paint picks the slingshots to hurl ball bearings and batteries at federal agents and the courthouse,' she said.
'Multiple attempts to barricade officers in the Hatfield courthouse have occurred – attempts to start the structure on fire as well. Eyesight damaging laser devices have been used in strobe lights against federal agents as well,' she said.
McEnany faced immediate questioning from reporters about the case of Navy vet Christopher David, who was captured on video getting pepper sprayed in the face and beaten by federal agents at a protest outside the Mark O. Hatfield courthouse in Portland.
'I'm aware of the details of that situation ... I'd refer you to DHS about the extenuating details,' she said, calling for the 'appropriate use of force.'
Asked where Trump got the authority to send feds to U.S. cities that don't want them, she pointed to 40 U.S. Code 1315, which has the deputization authority.
When a federal courthouse is being lit on fire, commercial fireworks being shot at it,' it falls 'pretty well' within the limits, she said.
She also was grilled on why federal officers have been seen by protests without identification that would inform the public of who they represent.
'There is insignia indicated that they're law enforcement,' she said. 'They don't identify themselves to crowds because it would put them at great risks,' she said.
President Trump has vowed to send troops into a number of cities run by Democrats, saying the 'radical left' will 'destroy' the country
Hundreds of mothers and fathers sang 'please don't shoot me' at cops in Portland as they formed a 'Wall of Moms' in a bid to 'protect' as many as 2,000 demonstrators from police
Federal agents use crowd control munitions to disperse Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland on Monday
Activists protest around a statue of Christopher Columbus near Roosevelt Rd. and Columbus Dr. while police stand by,, Monday, July 20, 2020 in Chicago
Trump had defended the actions online, and linked it to attacks on his political rival Joe Biden.
'The Radical Left Democrats, who totally control Biden, will destroy our Country as we know it. Unimaginably bad things would happen to America,' Trump tweeted. 'Look at Portland, where the pols are just fine with 50 days of anarchy. We sent in help. Look at New York, Chicago, Philadelphia. NO!'
McEnany wouldn't say what agents would be inserted into Chicago, where there was no immediate threat to a federal building, but where gun violence has raged for decades.
'I think you are getting ahead of the president here,' she told a reporter. 'He's made no announcements as to who's going where.'
The Chicago Tribune reported that 150 Homeland Security Investigations officers would carry out the mission, whose purpose has not been publicly revealed.
According to an HSI website, its agents tackle a variety of crime, including 'narcotics and weapons smuggling/trafficking' as well as 'transnational gang activity.'
The officers have been seen in Portland grabbing and arresting protesters, using unmarked vehicles, and using force against peaceful protesters.
On Monday night, hundreds of mothers and fathers sang 'please don't shoot me' at cops in Portland as they formed a 'Wall of Moms' in a bid to 'protect' as many as 2,000 demonstrators from police.
The crowd gathered outside the Portland Justice Center Monday night initially started out with about 1,000 protesters before quickly doubling in size by 9.45pm.
Demonstrators were shown singing 'Hands up! Please don't shoot me' to the tune of 'Ring around the Rosie,' in footage taken of the peaceful protest.
According to Bellingcat reporter, Robert Evans, at some point the protesters 'tore open the doors of a federal courthouse and then beat back the agents inside'.
Throughout the night, Evans shared a series of tweets and videos about the incidents that occurred during the protest, including how people reportedly 'forced the federal agents back inside their courthouse'.
Evans tweeted that 'the crowd is now throwing bottles at their hands as they try to shoot through murder slits' in a wooden structure built around the courthouse to protect it.
The crowd gathered outside the Portland Justice Center Monday night initially started out with about 1,000 protesters before quickly doubling in size by 9.45pm
A masked woman is pictured in a black protest shirt among other demonstrators outside the justice center
Federal officers use crowd control munitions to disperse Black Lives Matter protesters outside the courthouse early Tuesday morning
Video from Evans appears to show federal agents shooting non-lethal projectiles at protesters.
Monday also marked the third night that the 'Wall of Moms' had taken to the streets. The parents were similarly moved to protect protesters Saturday, until federal agents moved in and tear gassed the crowd.
Fathers in orange shirts also came out to protest alongside the mothers who wore yellow.
Marchers representing the Wall of Moms group and another known as PDXDadPod, said they were marching from the Portland Riverfront to the site of the justice center on Southwest Third Avenue.
Speakers at the protest encouraged participants to register and vote. One also gave instructions on how to respond if tear gas and other force was used against the demonstration.
'Stay together. Stay tight. We do this every night,' the speaker said.
Speaking on CNN 's State of the Union, Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler on Sunday said federal officers 'are not wanted here. We haven't asked them here. In fact, we want them to leave'.
President Donald Trump has decried the demonstrations in Portland, and Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf blasted the protesters as 'lawless anarchists'.
'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!'
Trump said the agents, with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Justice Department, are on hand to help Portland and restore order at the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse.
Wolf also said on Fox News: 'I don't need invitations by the state, state mayors or state governors to do our job. We're going to do that, whether they like us there or not.'
The protests now gaining nationwide attention have roiled Portland for 54 nights, ever since George Floyd died after being pinned by the neck for nearly nine minutes by a white Minneapolis police officer on May 25.
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