Portland Mayor on Trump Admin Sending Federal Authorities Into ‘Liberal Democratic Cities’: ‘This Is Crazy’

Portland, Oregon, Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) is condemning the federal agents that have been deployed into the city by President Donald Trump’s administration.

During an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon on Monday evening, Wheeler shared his disdain of federal troops in the streets of Portland as he noted their presence has only escalated the situation.

“This is just crazy,” Wheeler said. “We were coming to the end of our nightly demonstrations at least the part where people were vandalizing things and some scattered acts of violence. We saw the energy coming out of that. We thought it would be done in a couple of days.”

Like the protests in more than 100 cities across the United States, protesters descended on the streets of Portland following the death of George Floyd. As part of the Civil Rights Movement, protesters are continuing the fight against police brutality and racial injustice.

While many of the protests have been peaceful, Wheeler, like other mayors and governors, noted that the presence of military troops has escalated violence.

Wheeler continued, “Then the federal government sent in dozens if not hundreds of troops. They engaged in what I describe as really abhorrent tactics. And basically they blew the lid off of this. Since they have been here, we’ve had huge crowds come downtown. We’ve had more violence. … They basically kicked the hornets’ nest.”

See Wheeler’s remarks below:

When asked how local Law Enforcement