US, Oregon Agree to Phase Out Federal Agents From Portland
Oregon’s governor on Wednesday said federal tactical police had agreed to withdraw from Portland, though U.S. officials said agents would stay until conditions improved after weeks of clashes with protesters. Governor…
Oregon’s governor on Wednesday said federal tactical police had agreed to withdraw from Portland, though U.S. officials said agents would stay until conditions improved after weeks of clashes with protesters.
Governor Kate Brown said Vice President Mike Pence agreed to a “phased” end to the deployment that has sparked a standoff between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic mayors over the use of federal police in their cities.
Under the plan, all Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents protecting a federal courthouse will start to leave downtown Portland on Thursday, Brown said in a statement. The head of U.S. Homeland Security said agents would stay near the courthouse until they were sure the plan was working.
During the federal presence in Portland, one protester was nearly killed by a rubber bullet, two officers were likely blinded permanently by protesters using lasers, and activists were snatched off the street and whisked away by agents in minivans.
“They have acted as an occupying force & brought violence,” Brown, a Democrat who has clashed with Trump, wrote on Twitter.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, who oversees CBP and ICE, said Oregon State Police would secure a perimeter outside the courthouse and be positioned inside the courthouse grounds with regular federal police.
On a call with reporters, Wolf declined to provide a timeline for tactical agents to leave the city, saying they would remain in Portland on standby to defend the courthouse if Oregon State Police were overwhelmed.
The deal came after suburban mothers, veterans and healthcare workers joined anti-racism demonstrations to oppose the federal intervention. The arrival of these so-called white allies changed the optics of Black Lives Matter protests previously dominated by black-clad activists facing off against police in camoflage.
“The more the feds are out there, the more attention that’s going to grab, and obviously Trump didn’t think this through when he did this,” said Najee Gow, 22, a Black protest leader.