US President Donald Trump said Saturday he will send troops to Portland, Oregon, “authorising Full Force, if necessary” to handle “domestic terrorists” as he expands his controversial deployments to more American cities.
Trump announced this on social media, writing that he was directing the Department of Defence to “provide all necessary troops to protect war-ravaged Portland.”
The decision, according to Trump, was necessary to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, which he described as “under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.”
Details on the timeline for the deployment in Portland, or what troops would be involved, have yet to be given, and the White House has not issued any statement regarding this.
Since conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed, Trump has stepped up efforts to target the so-called “radical left,” which he claims is to blame for the nation’s political violence issues.
He deployed the National Guard and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles over the summer, as part of his law enforcement takeover in the District of Columbia.
Portland protesters target ICE facilities
The ICE facility in Portland has been the target of frequent demonstrations, sometimes leading to violent clashes. Some federal agents have been injured, and several protesters have been charged with assault.
Earlier this month, when protesters erected a guillotine, the Department of Homeland Security described it as “unhinged behaviour.”
Speaking at the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump suggested some kind of operation was in the works. “We’re going to get out there, and we’re going to do a pretty big number on those people in Portland,” he said, describing them as “professional agitators and anarchists.”
He once described living in Portland “like living in hell” and said he was considering sending in federal troops, as he has recently threatened to do to combat crime in other cities, including Chicago and Baltimore.
Reacting to Trump’s threat, Portland’s mayor, Keith Wilson, said in a statement. “Like other mayors across the country, I have not asked for—and do not need—federal intervention.”
Wilson said his city had protected freedom of expression while “addressing occasional violence and property destruction.”
In Tennessee, Memphis has been bracing for an influx of some 150 National Guard troops, and on Friday, Republican Gov. Bill Lee said they will be part of a surge of resources to fight crime in the city.
Trump previously threatened to send the National Guard into Chicago without following through.