A Democratic Oregon congressman dismissed that the ongoing riots in Portland are out of control, saying some in the city “have strong feelings.”
Portland protests have raged in the city since the death of George Floyd on Memorial Day, including destroying public property and attacking police officers. Rep. Earl Blumenauer addressed the civil unrest Tuesday afternoon during a floor speech in the nation’s capital.
“Portland, Oregon, is not out of control. To be sure, there are some people who have strong feelings,” Blumenauer said. “There are some who have done things that are inappropriate and unlawful, but that is the challenge of our local officials and our state officials to manage it, not having somebody unwelcome, uninvited, and unprepared coming in to take this difficult situation and make it worse.”
This past weekend, rioters barricaded law enforcement officers inside the Hatfield federal courthouse while igniting fireworks and also broke into a police union building and lit it on fire. Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said this week that he will not pull federal law enforcement officials from the city as they work to quell the violence, especially around federal buildings.
“We will not retreat,” Wolf said in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. “We will continue to take appropriate action.”
He added, “They’re not military or civilian police officers. These police officers are not storm troopers. They’re not the Gestapo.”
Portland’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, has repeatedly denounced the presence of federal officials in the city and signed a letter with 14 other mayors demanding President Trump pull such law enforcement personnel from the streets.
“It is concerning that federal law enforcement is being deployed for political purposes,” the letter posted on Tuesday reads. “The president and his administration continually attack local leadership and amplify false and divisive rhetoric purely for campaign fodder. Their words and actions have created an environment of fear and mistrust.”
Trump tweeted on Sunday that he is working to help the city because leadership has “lost control of the anarchists and agitators.”
“We are trying to help Portland, not hurt it,” he wrote. “Their leadership has, for months, lost control of the anarchists and agitators. They are missing in action. We must protect Federal property, AND OUR PEOPLE. These were not merely protesters, these are the real deal!”
