Six U.S. mayors urge Congress to block Trump federal deployment

(Reuters) - Six U.S. mayors, all Democrats, urged Congress yesterday to halt President Donald Trump’s deployment of federal forces to their cities, saying the move has escalated tensions at anti-racism protests spreading across the country.

The request came on the same day the U.S. attorney for Oregon announced the arrest of 22 people on charges stemming from clashes with federal and local police at the federal courthouse in Portland.

Federal agents dispatched to Portland, Oregon, have drawn national attention for whisking away demonstrators in unmarked cars, beating a U.S. Navy veteran and teargassing activist mothers and the city’s mayor.

“We call on Congress to pass legislation to make clear that these actions are unlawful and repugnant,” the Democratic mayors of Portland, Chicago, Seattle, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Kansas City, Missouri; and Washington, D.C., wrote in a letter to the leaders of both parties in the Senate and House of Representatives.

The appeal followed a surge in Black Lives Matter protests over the weekend, with an escalation in violence and the appearance of white supremacists and an armed Black militia. One person was shot dead at an Austin, Texas, protest on Saturday and two others were struck by gunfire at demonstration in Aurora, Colorado on Sunday.

In Seattle, police declared a riot and arrested 45 people during a protest over the deployment of federal agents to Portland and a standby force to Seattle. Protesters in Los Angeles clashed with officers in front of the city’s federal courthouse.

Weekend violence in downtown Richmond was instigated by white supremacists posing as Black Lives Matter protesters, police said.