Portland protests: All you need to know about Trump's crackdown

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53473732

 

Senior Democrat Nancy Pelosi said "unidentified Stormtroopers" were "kidnapping protesters". Another Democrat Ro Khanna described those involved as "secret federal agents".

So, who exactly are they?

They belong to a new federal force created last month in an executive order signed by President Trump which tasks them to protect historic monuments, memorials, statues, and federal facilities.

The personnel are drawn from a range of teams including the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency and the US Marshals Service. The Federal Protection Service, part of the Homeland Security and charged with protecting government buildings, also has officers in Portland and has detained protesters.

The US Marshals Service's Special Operations Group says it is "deployed in high-risk and sensitive law enforcement situations, national emergencies, civil disorder and natural disasters."

When asked about the arrest of a protester captured on video, the CBP said the individual was suspected of destroying federal property. They said agents had identified themselves and were wearing CBP insignia but their names were not displayed "due to recent doxing incidents against law enforcement personnel who serve and protect our country."

Some of those CBP agents in Portland photographed in camouflage are in the Border Patrol Tactical Unit, the agency's equivalent to a Swat team.