More than a dozen mayors nationwide have joined Portland in requesting that the Trump administration withdraw federal forces from major cities or end plans to send them, CNN reported on Wednesday.
The mayors called Trump’s intention to deploy the forces against protesters as an “abuse of power” in a letter sent this week to Attorney General William Barr and Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf.
The letter said that federal officers have used "significant force" against Portland protesters on a nightly basis, insisting "These are tactics we expect from authoritarian regimes -- not our democracy."
The protests in Portland began after George Floyd's death in the custody of Minneapolis police and have been going on for more than 50 days. Trump said he sent federal agents there before the Fourth of July weekend in order to protect federal property.
Although most of the Black Lives Matter marches have been peaceful, some have devolved into arson and vandalism, with injuries to civilians and police.
Earlier this week, Oregon’s Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden launched an effort to hamper Trump’s threat to expand the presence of federal law enforcement in cities by introducing new legislation that would halt controversial tactics used by agents, Newsweek reported.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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