Writing another of his signature-unhinged posts on Truth Social, Donald Trump proclaimed that federal agents—presumably masked and in unmarked vehicles—will invade Portland, Oregon, to “protect” ICE facilities that are “under siege.” Like the invasions of liberal bastions by Trump and Kristi Noem, Portland mayor Keith Wilson did not request federal agents and is urging the public to stay peaceful, as Fedor Zarkhin reported for OregonLive.com.
Keith Wilson warned of a ‘sudden influx’ of federal agents in Portland on Friday evening, a day after President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric promising federal intervention in the city. ‘We did not ask for them to come,’ Wilson said, calling the federal mobilization a distraction. ‘This may be a show of force, but that’s all it is,’ he said. ‘It’s just a big show. And after a big show, we know what happens. Everyone goes home. And that’s what I want to see happen here.’ Wilson was joined by other Oregon leaders who said they wanted to sound the alarm about the apparent increased federal presence at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility south of downtown Portland.
via Fedor Zarkhin for The Chronicle/OregonLive.com
U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, who recently visited the ICE facility south of downtown Portland with other Democratic lawmakers, implied that the announcement was yet another stunt by Trump to “induce a violent incident.”
Merkley said it wasn’t clear what divisions of the federal government were descending on Portland. Meaning, agents could be coming from the Federal Protective Service, the FBI or ICE. But one thing was clear, he said. Trump wants to ‘induce a violent incident’ in Portland. ‘Let us not grant him that,’ he said, urging Portlanders to not ‘take the bait. Our responsibility is to, yes, express our views, but best done at a distance from these federal troops wherever they might be, and whatever they are doing, because their goal is to create an engagement, an engagement that will lead to conflict.’
via Fedor Zarkhin for The Chronicle/OregonLive.com
Trump, Bill Barr and Chad Wolf have a documented history terrorizing Portland, dating back to George Floyd/Black Lives Matter protests that swept the nation in 2020. Trump’s DHS at that time was led by acting-head Wolf (serving in that capacity illegally), who spied on journalists covering the protests. Trump also illegally ordered U.S. Marshals to “go get” a BLM/antifa protestor called Michael Forest Reinoehl, whom they executed in broad daylight while reportedly walking to his car carrying a phone and gummyworms.
AUTHOR FOOTNOTE
So yes, Donny’s revenge tour will make its latest stop (after terrorizing Washington, D.C. and Chicago) in Portland. And that profoundly illegal campaign is apparently predicated on what the founder of TrumpFile documented yesterday: a mobbed-up Monarch Decree (Executive Order) that essentially criminalizes protests—written with intentional vagueness so his goons have wide latitude in roughing up their targets.
And sure, Billy Barr ran the Dry Run for today’s operation in 2020. But I want to drill down on something mentioned in the Chronicle story: inside Donny’s mountain of grievances could lie the main reason why he greenlit this action. Kristi Noem has, repeatedly, taken umbrage with reporters, pundits and lawmakers who even dare criticize her Gestapo Brownshirts; since Noem apparently requested the Portland action herself, the duo have equal “motivation” to take the illegal steps announced today.
In other words, plainspoken critiques of Donald’s concentration camps have always made notoriously hypersensitive operatives hoppin’ mad.
In addition to Merkley, Oregon’s other Senator, Ron Wyden, has been doggedly pursuing release of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents, pressuring U.S. Treasury to release financial files connected to the late-financier and sex-trafficker. See the Capital Chronicle story for more on that.
Great thanks to Will Bunch for reminding on Bluesky that Portland is a serene, peaceful city with vibrant, joyful fall colors.
SOURCES
- Featured image courtesy of Will Bunch, Bluesky
- The Chronicle/OregonLive
- Newsweek
- Oregon Capital Chronicle
