President Donald Trump has warned he would deploy more federal law enforcement agents to major United States cities to put a check on ongoing demonstrations. Mr. Trump issued a stark criticism on the liberal Democrats leadership that is running the cities including New York and Chicago, blaming that the mayors of the cities were afraid to take action against those carrying out the protests. He said agents sent to Oregon had done a fantastic job to restore order amid days of protests in Portland. Local officials say the federal law enforcement outfits were making situation worst. State leaders have demanded the President to call back the personnel from city of Portland as they accused the Republican of escalating the tensions for political gains ahead of elections.
Speaking at WH on Monday, Mr. Trump once again voice his intent to maintain law and order in the country.
“We are sending law enforcement,” he told reporters. “We can’t let this happen to the cities.” He specifically mentioned Philadelphia, NYC, Baltimore, Oakland, Detroit and Chicago as the hosts of violence.
“We are not going to let this happen in our country, all run by liberal Democrats.”
The President also lauded the work done by LEAs to put order in Portland, the city that has seen weeks of protests and protesters suffering at the hands of police brutality following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota earlier in May. Trump sent the Federal agents to the US west coast City two weeks ago to quash the social disorder.
Among the personnel’s some drove unmarked cars and were dressed in military-style camouflage suits that appeared in streets to grab the protesters and drive them away to nearby detention centers. This prompted condemnation from Democrats and human rights organizations. The tensions between the officers and demonstrators are high for the last week and local leadership has called for restraint and demanded the federal watchdogs to leave Portland.
The Republican President blamed Oregon’s governor and Portland’s mayor and other Democrat lawmakers for bowing down to the anarchists.
“They are afraid of these people,” he said. “That is the reason they don’t want us to help them.”
He added: “Federal officers have been there three days and they really have done a fantastic job in a very short period of time, no problem. They grab a lot of people and jail the leaders. These are anarchists.”
The agents represent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unit and have the members recruited from the Customs and Border Protection and US Marshals Service. They have been given the charge under an executive order protecting statues, signed by Trump last month. The order permits federal agents to be used without the permission of the states in the country.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also intends to deploy around 150 personnel of the agency to Chicago this week, according to Chicago Tribune’s report on Monday. The officials will reportedly help law enforcement officers in the state to fight the vandalism. Trump has long accused the Chicago’s authorities of failing to put a check on violent crime in the Illinois city where just over the last weekend 64 people were shot and 11 were fatally injured.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot earlier expressed concerns over the President’s move for her city. She said she had spoken with Portland’s mayor on Sunday “to get a sense of what’s happened there”.
“We don’t need federal agents without any insignia taking people off the streets and holding them, I think, unlawfully,” mayor said.
Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said there were “dozens if not hundreds of federal troops” in the city, adding: “Their presence here is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism.
“They’re not wanted here. We haven’t asked them here. In fact, we want them to leave,” he said.
