The Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched a formal investigation into the violent attacks on federal law enforcement and federal buildings in Portland, two senior administration officials told the Washington Examiner.
The FBI is one of several federal agencies investigating the individuals and groups who have organized and carried out the nightly riots, which take place in the early morning hours after largely peaceful protests have wrapped up earlier in the evening.
The FBI did not respond to a request for comment and has not revealed who directed the investigation or when it was initiated.
The Oregon city has been ground zero in a fight between the Trump administration and local Democratic leaders who say the White House overstepped its bounds by allowing federal law enforcement to come into the city and guard a federal courthouse.
Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf told reporters in a press conference Tuesday that he deployed elite nonmilitary police from Customs and Border Protection, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, because Federal Protective Services officers assigned to the Hatfield federal courthouse were being overrun by “violent anarchists” in June.
However, Mayor Ted Wheeler and Gov. Kate Brown say they do not want federal police in their city and that the Portland police have the situation under control, even as public parks, statues, minority businesses, and local government buildings have been destroyed or dismantled by the rioters. Congressional Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, say the Trump administration is overstepping its bounds.
“The use of stormtroopers under the guise of law and order is a tactic that is not appropriate to our country in any way,” Pelosi told reporters Thursday.
Trump announced Wednesday plans to send additional federal police into Chicago and Albuquerque, where homicides and violent crime have risen amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Justice Department clarified that the DHS officers will not be guarding buildings in either city and will instead be working behind the scenes with local police.
DHS and DOJ inspectors general announced Thursday plans to investigate the conduct of the federal agents and officers amid their work in Oregon.
