Feds’ show of force heads west
After protests erupted nationwide over the police killing of George Floyd, the Trump administration threatened to “dominate the battle space” of the country it nominally governs. Then it provided a demonstration by violently expelling protesters from Lafayette Square, near the White House, for a presidential photo op. Now the battle has come to the West Coast.
Federal agents have used excessive force and dubious detentions against protesters in Portland, Ore., in recent weeks over the objections of state and local officials. Contrary to President Trump’s vow to “quell” persistent disorder there, city leaders say the federal forces are aggravating the unrest. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown called the federal government’s involvement “political theater” and a “blatant abuse of power.” Sheriff Mike Reese of Multnomah County, which includes Portland, said the federal response to the protests “failed to display good decisionmaking and sound tactical judgment. The use of force did not appear proportional to the actions of the demonstrators.”
Protesters recounted tactics worthy of dystopian works of science fiction. Oregon Public Broadcasting and others reported that federal officers driving unmarked vans, clad in camouflage and identified only as “police” detained protesters without charges or even an official arrest record or report. The experience was compared to being kidnapped and “preyed upon.”
Federal forces have also attacked protesters with irritant gas and fired on them with lessthanlethal ammunition. One demonstrator who took a shot to the head reportedly suffered a skull fracture and required facial surgery.
Administration officials refused to address such excesses but made much of the show of force, which has all the hallmarks of a calculated appeal to what’s left of Trump’s political base. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf visited the city and declared it “under siege for 47 straight days by a violent mob.” His statement included a lengthy catalog of offenses attributed to “violent anarchists,” many of them incidences of graffiti and other vandalism of government buildings.
The federal incursion in Portland echoes the excesses in Washington, D.C., where officials cited minor provocations such as hurled water bottles to justify deploying gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets and other weapons against Americans exercising their constitutional rights. The crackdown was effected by military and law enforcement personnel from a host of federal agencies, some of whom weren’t identified and had no particular business being there.
The same can be said of those parachuting into Portland. Absent any evidence that their assistance is wanted or needed, they should confine themselves to federal property or go home.