Clashes with federal agents continue in Portland
As protests in Portland continued for a 56th straight day, federal agents fired tear gas canisters at Black Lives Matter demonstrators amid growing scrutiny over the use of border patrol officers in the city.
Positioned behind a steel fence, agents began firing tear gas after a small group of protesters, many helmeted and wearing face masks, lit a fire at the entrance of the federal courthouse shortly after midnight.
After saying they were being hit with projectiles and lasers, federal agents declared an unlawful assembly Friday and forced protesters to move away from the courthouse.
The agents then retreated to a different corner and confronted protesters there.
Security forces have frequently tear-gassed and clubbed demonstrators during the unrest in the city.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended the President's use of federal officers in Portland at Friday’s press briefing:
"These are not the actions of so-called peaceful protesters. The Trump administration will not stand by and allow anarchy in our streets. Law and order will prevail."
After Thursday night saw Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler get tear-gassed, the U.S. Justice Department said it would investigate the use of force by federal agents.
The deployment has provoked public anger, and inflamed tensions between Trump and locally elected Democrats over the role of federal police in street protests.
A federal team of border officers, directed by the U.S. Homeland Security Department, was on "standby" to protect federal buildings, U.S. officials said on Thursday.
The investigations follow public anger over the deployment of federal border patrol officers to Portland against the wishes of local officials.
The Trump administration has said it is sending a similar contingent to Seattle, over the objections of the city's mayor.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf has said all federal agents have been making lawful arrests and properly identifying themselves as law enforcement.
Demonstrators and local officials see the deployment of the agents in Portland as a ploy by Trump to drum up a "law and order" campaign as he faces an uphill re-election battle.
