Tuesday, July 21, 2020
Fox's Napolitano rips 'unconstitutional' Trump crackdown on Portland: 'Just plain wrong'
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/508205-foxs-napolitano-rips-unconstitutional-trump-crackdown-on-portland-just-plain
Andrew Napolitano
slammed the Trump administration for sending federal law enforcement to
Portland in response to violent protests in Oregon's largest city, with
the Fox News senior judicial analyst calling the move
"unconstitutional" and "just plain wrong."
Democrats seek probe into ‘secret police force’ in Oregon
https://www.ft.com/content/c2066705-b769-4dff-80c2-2ccb82711486
Senior Democratic lawmakers have called for inquiries into the Trump administration’s use of federal law enforcement officers to quell protests in Oregon, saying the administration did not have “unfettered authority” to crack down on peaceful demonstrations.
The request from Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House judiciary committee, and Carolyn Maloney, who chairs the House oversight committee, came after local officials in Oregon accused the Trump administration of using unlawful and “abhorrent” tactics in Portland, the state’s largest city.
“This is a matter of utmost urgency. Citizens are concerned that the administration has deployed a secret police force, not to investigate crimes but to intimidate individuals it views as political adversaries, and that the use of these tactics will proliferate throughout the country,” Mr Nadler and Ms Maloney stated.
"They're kidnapping people": "Trump's secret police" snatch Portland protesters into unmarked vans
salon
Democratic leaders in Oregon called on the Trump administration to withdraw federal forces from Portland after footage emerged of camouflaged federal officers snatching protesters off the streets and detaining them in unmarked minivans.
Democratic leaders in Oregon called on the Trump administration to withdraw federal forces from Portland after footage emerged of camouflaged federal officers snatching protesters off the streets and detaining them in unmarked minivans.
Officers from the U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group and Custom and Border Protection's Border Patrol Tactical Unit have been deployed to protect federal property in Portland amid ongoing protests since July 14, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. But the officials have also detained protesters who are not near federal property, the outlet reported, and it is unclear if all of the detained individuals were involved in alleged criminal activity.
Trump’s Legal Justification for the Abduction of Portland Protesters Is Absurd
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/07/trump-legal-justification-portland-secret-police.html
Over the weekend, a group of Portland, Oregon, moms confronted
federal officers who had fired tear gas at them and other peaceful
protesters on Saturday outside of a federal courthouse. The escalation
of the Portland protests came as unidentified federal officers in
paramilitary uniforms were caught on tape abducting protesters and as
President Donald Trump announced
on Monday that he might send “more federal law enforcement” to cities
“run by liberal Democrats” to replicate the Portland tactics against
protesters, including efforts to “grab them, a lot of people in jail.”
On Monday, it was reported
that the Department of Homeland Security would be sending 150 federal
agents to Chicago this week with an unspecified mandate. The apparent
legal justification for the abduction of protesters is weak, and it
should be vigorously challenged in the courts before Trump can export
these tactics to other cities for use against citizens exercising their
First Amendment rights.
Trump pounding at defund the police, but Biden is an elusive target
https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-pounding-at-defund-the-police-but-biden-is-an-elusive-target
Things would be so much easier for the Trump campaign if Joe Biden was in favor of defunding the police.
But
the president and his team are determined to tie every out-there
left-wing position around their opponent’s neck, brushing aise his
denials.
But Biden is a fascinating case study. While he’s certainly more
liberal than any past Democratic standard-bearer of the modern era, he’s
largely avoided embracing the most controversial proposals from the
Bernie/AOC wing of the party. Biden has said repeatedly he doesn’t
support defunding the police, he didn’t back the Green New Deal and
refused to support Medicare for All, drawing flak from the woke
progressives.
But President Trump took a very different tack in the Chris Wallace interview that aired Sunday.
“Biden wants to defund the police,” Trump said.
“No he, sir, he does not,” Wallace countered.
“Look,”
Trump said. “He signed a charter with Bernie Sanders; I will get that
one...Did you read the charter that he agreed to with...”
“It says nothing about defunding the police,” Wallace said.
“Oh really? It says abolish, it says -- let’s go. Get me the charter, please.”
An aide brought the document, and Wallace was right--it did not address taking money away from police departments.
Federal agents in unmarked cars, 'wall of moms': Here's what's happening in Portland
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/20/portland-protests-federal-agents-unmarked-cars-and-walls-moms/5470780002/
The agents come from the U.S. Marshals Special
Operations Group and an elite U.S. Customs and Border Protection team
based on the U.S.-Mexico border and have been deployed to protect
federal property.
Last week, video also
surfaced of the federal authorities using unmarked vehicles to detain
people, seemingly without an explanation.
'They Just Started Waling On Me': Violence In Portland As U.S. Agents Clamp Down
https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/07/20/893082598/they-just-started-whaling-violence-tension-as-u-s-agents-clamp-down-in-portland
President Trump defended the federal response. "We are trying to help Portland, not hurt it," he tweeted on
Sunday. "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."
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf brushed aside criticism that federal officers are inciting violence.
"I don't need invitations by the state, state mayors or state governors to do our job," Wolf said Monday on Fox News. "We're going to do that, whether they like us there or not."
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.
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