They say that the first step on the road to recovery is to admit you have a problem. The city of Portland is still in denial, so it’s time to pull federal officers out and leave the city to its own destruction.
The riots in Portland have been going on for weeks. Violence has now intensified. President Trump sent in federal law enforcement to protect a federal courthouse, which is well within the scope of their duties. Yet Oregon Gov. Kate Brown deems this merely an “election stunt,” while Portland Mayor and Police Commissioner Ted Wheeler has yet to find a spine to protect his city.
The situation gets more dangerous by the day. Portland police have confiscated weapons, including Molotov cocktails. Federal officers are being injured, including by what are being described as “mortar blasts.” Officers are being hit by fireworks and hammers, and according to the Associated Press, chunks of concrete have been used against officers as well.
Tonight Portland Police were near Lownsdale Square Park. A person pointed out a bag to them. Inside the bag Police found loaded rifle magazines and Molotov cocktails pic.twitter.com/ytpu9pZjqG
— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) July 27, 2020
Protecting federal buildings is a job for federal law enforcement, and there is nothing to suggest federal officers have been instigators of conflict. If the governor and the mayor don’t want to help them keep the city safe, perhaps we should pull them out of the city and leave it on its own.
This also means that, like Minneapolis, Portland should be denied federal aid for rebuilding their city. If city and state officials don’t want to make an attempt to protect their city, American taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook to cover the destruction.
It also means that the destruction of the courthouse should be billed to the state of Oregon. Federal officers are being put in danger to protect federal property while the state and city encourage rioters to feel good about themselves. It may not be long before one of these confrontations turns tragic; there’s no point in leaving our federal officers to take that risk.
So pull our federal officers out, don’t fund Portland’s rebuilding, and bill them for the courthouse. This is what the residents of Portland voted for. Who are we to protect them from the consequences of their own decisions?
