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Trump says he will ‘go in & take care of matters’ in Portland if mayor fails to reclaim city from ‘anarchists and looters’
29 Aug, 2020 01:53
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A police officer removes a barricade erected by demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, U.S., August 23, 2020. © REUTERS/Terray Sylvester
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US President Donald Trump has hinted that he could invoke a law allowing federal troops to be deployed against local authorities' wishes after Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler demanded he “stays away” from the violence-plagued city.
“If the incompetent Mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, doesn’t get control of his city and stop the Anarchists, Agitators, Rioters and Looters, causing great danger to innocent people, we will go in and take care of matters the way they should have been taken care of 100 days ago!” Trump tweeted on Friday.
Also on rt.com ‘Stay away’ Portland mayor tells Trump on offer of federal aid, as DOJ accuses city of siding with rioters
Wheeler argued that Oregon state troopers sent to the city to protect a federal courthouse, which was for weeks besieged by protesters, had only made “the situation far worse” then it was before.While the troopers withdrew from the city earlier this month after their commitment ended – and amid growing frustrations over the local district attorney's refusal to prosecute many of those arrested during the unrest – the violence has hardly subsided.
Last Sunday, Black Lives Matter activists attempted to torch a police station while they were heard chanting “Burn baby, burn!” at the outer wall of the precinct in video footage that circulated online.
Also on rt.com ‘Burn baby, burn!’: WATCH Portland protesters cheer after police precinct set ablaze on 88th night of rioting
Despite the spate of violence showing no signs of abating, Wheeler vehemently rejected Trump’s more recent offers to send in federal assistance to the city.
“Your offer to repeat that disaster is a cynical attempt to stoke fear and distract us from the real work of our city,” he charged.
Trump’s threat to take over Portland in spite of Wheeler’s objections could suggest he plans to invoke the Insurrection Act, a 19th century law that allows the federal government to forego the approval of state authorities and send in troops to restore order when it’s impossible to enforce US law, or when citizens' rights are endangered.
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Trump says he will ‘go in & take care of matters’ in Portland if mayor fails to reclaim city from ‘anarchists and looters’
29 Aug, 2020 01:53
Get short URL
A police officer removes a barricade erected by demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, U.S., August 23, 2020. © REUTERS/Terray Sylvester
Follow RT on
US President Donald Trump has hinted that he could invoke a law allowing federal troops to be deployed against local authorities' wishes after Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler demanded he “stays away” from the violence-plagued city.
“If the incompetent Mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, doesn’t get control of his city and stop the Anarchists, Agitators, Rioters and Looters, causing great danger to innocent people, we will go in and take care of matters the way they should have been taken care of 100 days ago!” Trump tweeted on Friday.
The US president’s broadside at Wheeler comes hours after the Democratic mayor penned a scathing open letter to Trump, refusing any federal assistance in quelling the unrest that has beset Portland for over three months while accusing Trump of stirring “division” with his “demagoguery.”
Also on rt.com ‘Stay away’ Portland mayor tells Trump on offer of federal aid, as DOJ accuses city of siding with rioters
Wheeler argued that Oregon state troopers sent to the city to protect a federal courthouse, which was for weeks besieged by protesters, had only made “the situation far worse” then it was before.While the troopers withdrew from the city earlier this month after their commitment ended – and amid growing frustrations over the local district attorney's refusal to prosecute many of those arrested during the unrest – the violence has hardly subsided.
Last Sunday, Black Lives Matter activists attempted to torch a police station while they were heard chanting “Burn baby, burn!” at the outer wall of the precinct in video footage that circulated online.
Also on rt.com ‘Burn baby, burn!’: WATCH Portland protesters cheer after police precinct set ablaze on 88th night of rioting
Despite the spate of violence showing no signs of abating, Wheeler vehemently rejected Trump’s more recent offers to send in federal assistance to the city.
“Your offer to repeat that disaster is a cynical attempt to stoke fear and distract us from the real work of our city,” he charged.
Trump’s threat to take over Portland in spite of Wheeler’s objections could suggest he plans to invoke the Insurrection Act, a 19th century law that allows the federal government to forego the approval of state authorities and send in troops to restore order when it’s impossible to enforce US law, or when citizens' rights are endangered.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
