Story at a glance
- “DHS is not going to back down from our responsibilities. We are not escalating, we are protecting,” Chad Wolf, acting secretary of Homeland Security, told “Fox & Friends” Monday.
- Federal officers last week began cracking down on crowds of demonstrators that vandalized Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse.
- The federal response last week was widely criticized after video surfaced showing officers without clear identification badges using unmarked vehicles to detain protesters.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is defending the use of federal law enforcement to protect a courthouse in Portland, Ore., where demonstrators have recently clashed with federal law officers as local leaders are demanding the officers leave the city.
“DHS is not going to back down from our responsibilities. We are not escalating, we are protecting,” Chad Wolf, acting secretary of Homeland Security, told “Fox & Friends” Monday, adding that it’s the agency’s job to protect federal property.
“At the end of the day, we’re going to do our job. We’re not going to apologize for it. We’re going to do it professionally and we’re going to do it correctly,” Wolf said.
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Federal officers last week began cracking down on crowds of demonstrators that vandalized Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse, using tear gas to push protesters back. On Sunday, federal officers used tear gas and other crowd-control munitions to break up crowds gathered outside the federal courthouse as demonstrations escalated in the city in response to the deployment of federal law enforcement agencies.
The Portland Police Department said Monday federal law enforcement dispersed a crowd of hundreds of people after some tore down a large fence built to wall-off the courthouse.
“Dozens of people with shields, helmets, gas masks, umbrellas, bats, and hockey sticks approached the doors of the courthouse,” the department said in a statement. “Federal law enforcement came out of the courthouse at about 11:50 p.m. and dispersed the crowd.”
Portland police on Saturday declared protests outside the courthouse a riot after a group of people broke into the Portland Police Association office and set it on fire.
The unrest in Portland comes as the city has seen protests against police brutality everyday since the death of George Floyd on May 25 at the hands of Minneapolis police.
The Trump administration dispatched federal law enforcement earlier this month, inflaming tensions between DHS and state and city leadership.
The federal response last week was widely criticized after video surfaced showing officers without clear identification badges using unmarked vehicles to arrest protesters.
The Oregon attorney general filed a lawsuit late Friday night alleging the federal government had violated Oregonians’ civil rights by seizing and detaining them without probable cause.
House Democrats on Sunday demanded internal investigations into whether the Justice and Homeland Security departments abused emergency authorities in their response to the demonstration, while Portland’s mayor said Sunday he wants federal law enforcement to exit the city.
“Their presence here is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism, and it’s not helping the situation at all. They’re not wanted here, we haven’t asked them here. In fact, we want them to leave,” Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) said on CNN’s “State of The Union.”
Wolf pushed back against Wheeler’s claim Monday, calling it irresponsible.
“What we know is before July 4, where we saw an escalation of violence in Portland, before that time there was violence ongoing and DHS had very few officers in the city,” he said, explaining there have been “over 50 nights of violent activity targeting federal facilities and federal law enforcement officers.’
President Trump on Sunday also defended federal agencies’ presence in Portland, tweeting that “we are trying to help Portland, not hurt it,” claiming the city’s leadership was to blame.
“Their leadership has, for months, lost control of the anarchists and agitators. They are missing in action,” he wrote. “We must protect Federal property, AND OUR PEOPLE. These were not merely protesters, these are the real deal!”
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