Acting secretary for the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, penned a letter to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler (D), urging him to reconsider utilizing federal resources to quell riots in his city.
On Monday, Wolf asked Wheeler to request federal assistance as a means of prioritizing public safety.
“I urge you to prioritize public safety and to request federal assistance to restore law and order in Portland,” Wolf wrote. “We are standing by to support Portland.”
Wolf reiterated President Donald Trump’s stance on law and order as he insisted the federal government “will have no choice” but to intervene if Wheeler does not quell the violence.
“At the same time, President Trump has made it abundantly clear that there will come a point when state and local officials fail to protect its citizens from violence, the federal government will have no choice but to protect our American citizens.”
According to DHS reports, a total of 255 arrests have been made and 23 incidents have been declared riots or unlawful assembles.
Although the reports signaled a heightened level of civil unrest, Wolf told Wheeler that he “stood by passively, arguing that the nightly violence ‘will ultimately burn itself out.’ The evidence demonstrates otherwise.”
Read Wolf’s full letter below:
Chad Wolf Wheeler Letter by Fox News
Wolf’s letter to Wheeler comes just two days after the mayor’s press conference where he fired back at President Donald Trump. On Sunday, Wheeler criticized the president’s rhetoric as he accused him of fanning the flames of racism, hate, and division.
'You want me to stop the violence that you helped create’: Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler called out U.S. President Donald Trump during a press conference to address the protests where one person was fatally shot on Saturday night.
— CTV News (@CTVNews) August 30, 2020
More here: https://t.co/u9FqmeBELG pic.twitter.com/pjk1nVKyEB
Wheeler also reminded the president that civil unrest is still occurring on his presidential watch despite him placing blame on Democratic leaders.
“Do you seriously wonder, Mr. President, why this is the first time in decades that America has seen this level of violence?” Wheeler asked the president during his televised news conference.
He added, “It’s you who have created the hate and the division. It’s you who have not found a way to say the names of Black people killed by police officers even as people in law enforcement have. And it’s you who have claimed white supremacists are good people.”
Although Wolf believes more law enforcement is the answer, Wheeler insists America simply needs for Trump “to be stopped” so Americans can “pull together and hold all people accountable in stopping racism and violence and we together are peaceful again under new leadership that reflects who we really are.”
