Tag: Portland Oregon

Pentagon Deploys 200 National Guard Troops Following Trump’s Portland Order
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday ordered 200 Oregon National Guard troops to be deployed under federal authority while the state filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s move to send military forces into the Democratic-run city of Portland.
The Republican president on Saturday announced plans to send troops into Portland, saying they would be used to protect federal immigration facilities against “domestic terrorists” and that he was authorizing them to use “full force, if necessary.”
Trump’s deployments of military forces into other municipalities led by Democrats, including Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., have spurred legal challenges and protests.
Oregon’s suit was filed against Trump, Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in federal court in Portland on Sunday by Democratic Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield. The suit accused Trump of exceeding his powers.
“Citing nothing more than baseless, wildly hyperbolic pretext – the President says Portland is a ‘War ravaged’ city ‘under siege’ from ‘domestic terrorists.’ Defendants have thus infringed on Oregon’s sovereign power to manage its own law enforcement activity and National Guard resource,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit stated that protests against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in Portland have been small and relatively contained since June.
Trump’s planned deployment caught many at the Pentagon by surprise, six U.S. officials told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. On Sunday, Hegseth signed a memo ordering 200 Oregon National Guard troops deployed under federal authority. The memo was made public as an attachment to Oregon’s lawsuit.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Sending in 200 National Guard troops to guard a single building is not normal,” Rayfield said in a statement, apparently referring to an ICE facility.
Violent crime in Portland has dropped in the first six months of 2025, according to preliminary data released by the Major Cities Chiefs Association in its Midyear Violent Crime Report. Homicides fell by 51% compared to the same period a year earlier, according to these statistics.
Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has made crime a major focus of his administration even as violent crime rates have fallen in many U.S. cities.
In 2020, protests erupted in downtown Portland, the Pacific Northwest enclave with a reputation as a liberal city, following the killing in Minneapolis of a Black man named George Floyd by a white police officer. The protests dragged on for months, and some civic leaders at the time said they were spurred rather than quelled by Trump’s deployment of federal troops.
It was unclear whether Trump’s warning that U.S. troops could use “full force” on the streets of Portland meant he was somehow authorizing lethal force and, if so, under what conditions. U.S. troops are able to use force in self-defense on domestic U.S. deployments.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, like other Oregon officials, learned of Trump’s order from social media on Saturday.
The Situation in Portland
Many in Trump’s own Pentagon were caught off guard.
“It was a bolt from the blue,” one of the U.S. officials said, adding that the military was previously focused on carrying out prudent planning for potential deployments of troops by Trump into cities such as Chicago and Memphis.
There have been growing tensions in major U.S. cities over Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown days after a shooting targeting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas left one detainee dead and two others seriously wounded.
September 29, 2025
Portland Faces Off With Trump Again on Federal Forces
Portland, Oregon — Echoes of 2020 reverberated through the streets of Portland this weekend as President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of 200 National Guard troops to the city, igniting a fierce legal and political showdown with Oregon’s Democratic leadership. The move, aimed at safeguarding federal properties like an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility amid ongoing protests, has drawn swift condemnation from state officials who filed a lawsuit Sunday to block what they call an “unlawful” and unnecessary intrusion. As tensions simmer, with at least one reported clash between protesters and federal agents, the episode highlights Trump’s aggressive stance on domestic security in Democratic strongholds during his second term.
The drama unfolded rapidly over the weekend. On Saturday, Trump took to Truth Social to announce he had directed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to dispatch “all necessary Troops to protect war-ravaged Portland, and any other ICE facilities under siege from attack by Antifa and other domestic terrorists.” Hegseth followed through Sunday with a memo federalizing 200 members of the Oregon National Guard under Title 10 authority, stationing them in Portland for 60 days to shield federal assets where “protests are occurring or likely to occur.” This legal maneuver allows the president to commandeer state Guard units during perceived national emergencies, bypassing local consent—a tactic Trump employed earlier this year in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Oregon’s response was immediate and unified. Governor Tina Kotek, Attorney General Dan Rayfield, and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson—all Democrats—jointly sued the administration in federal court, arguing the deployment violates federal law and is based on a “baseless, wildly hyperbolic pretext.” “Oregon communities are stable, and our local officials have been clear: we have the capacity to manage public safety without federal interference,” Rayfield stated. Kotek, who spoke directly with Trump before the order, emphasized at a news conference in Tom McCall Waterfront Park: “Our city is a far cry from the war-ravaged community he has posted on social media. There is no insurrection, there is no threat to national security and there is no need for military troops in our major city.”
The lawsuit echoes a similar challenge from California in June after Trump’s Los Angeles deployment, which remains unresolved. In that case, a federal judge ruled that while Trump could federalize troops, their activities were constrained by the Posse Comitatus Act, prohibiting military involvement in domestic law enforcement without explicit congressional approval or under the Insurrection Act. Legal experts warn that invoking the Insurrection Act—last used controversially in the civil rights era—could escalate matters further, as it allows broader military intervention in civil unrest. Elizabeth Goitein of the Brennan Center for Justice noted that such deployments have historically required governor requests or overwhelming crises, conditions not evident in Portland.
On the ground, federal agents arrived over the weekend, leading to immediate friction. Video from local station KATU-TV captured an ICE officer shoving a protester outside the South Portland ICE facility on Friday, with another demonstrator detained amid confrontations. Protests at the site have persisted for months, largely peaceful but marked by arrests, with federal officials accusing demonstrators of threatening officers. Hundreds gathered Sunday night, chanting in opposition to the troops, as captured in social media footage showing tense standoffs.
Local reactions are mixed. Some residents, like David Schmidt near the ICE building, expressed frustration with ongoing protests: “Every night, there’s tons of protesters basically being vagrants on the street… They are making noise constantly.” Others, such as Ocean Hosojasso, fear a repeat of 2020’s unrest: “I’m just worried that we’re going to see things blow up like they did in 2020.” Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) advised protesters to avoid direct clashes, suggesting the federal presence aims to provoke conflict. Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) decried it as a “gross abuse of power.”
Business leaders joined the chorus of criticism. Vanessa Sturgeon of the Portland Metro Chamber stated: “Portland is a city on the rise. We are working to tackle our biggest challenges together… and it does not need federal troops.” Social media buzzed with the hashtag #WarRavagedPortland, featuring ironic posts of serene city scenes to counter Trump’s narrative.
The administration defends the action as essential protection. Senior aide Stephen Miller highlighted summer protests at the ICE facility, while a Department of War spokesperson declined comment on the litigation. Trump’s broader strategy includes similar deployments, like an impending one in Memphis with Tennessee’s GOP governor’s consent. Even some Republicans, like Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), express reservations about troops in cities but acknowledge a federal role in protecting assets.
As Oregon seeks an emergency injunction, the clash tests the boundaries of presidential power in an increasingly polarized nation. Neighboring officials, including Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and Washington AG Nick Brown, planned a Monday press conference to address the trend. California AG Rob Bonta voiced solidarity: “The National Guard is not Trump’s personal police force.” With the lawsuit pending, Portland braces for what could become another flashpoint in America’s ongoing debate over federal overreach and local autonomy.
September 28, 2025
Oregon Sues to Halt Trump’s National Guard Deployment
Officials in Oregon have filed a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops in Portland, adding to the legal battles against President Trump’s use of troops in major cities.
The state of Oregon and city of Portland filed a joint lawsuit Sunday against Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over the deployment of the National Guard to the Beaver State’s biggest city.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court, calls the deployment of National Guard troops to Portland “heavy-handed” and unlawful.
The president, in a post on his Truth Social platform Saturday morning, directed Hegseth to “provide all necessary Troops” to deploy to Portland. The move stems from protests outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in the city, with Trump claiming the building was “under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.”
The court filing, though, argued the protests have involved fewer than 30 people in recent weeks and noted no arrests have been made since mid-June.
“Defendants’ heavyhanded deployment of troops threatens to escalate tensions and stokes new unrest, meaning more of the Plaintiffs’ law enforcement resources will be spent responding to the predictable consequences of Defendants’ action,” the lawsuit states.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D), appearing at a press conference alongside state Attorney General Dan Rayfield (D) and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson (D), called the deployment “an abuse of power and a disservice to our communities and our service members,” according to KOIN in Portland.
Kotek also marched with residents in downtown Portland on Sunday, saying in a post on the social platform X that “we don’t need military intervention here.”
People hold signs during a protest on Sunday in Portland, Ore. © Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images
As governor, Kotek controls her state’s National Guard. The lawsuit alleges Trump does not have the authority to seize control of the Oregon National Guard under Title 10, Section 12406 of the U.S. Code, which gives the president the capacity to federalize state national guards if the country is facing an invasion or rebellion or the president “is unable with the regular forces to execute the law.”
The lawsuit also says Trump’s order violates the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states that authority not delegated to the federal government is reserved for states. It also says the move violates the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars federal troops from being used for civilian law enforcement.
“Defendants have thus infringed on Oregon’s sovereign power to manage its own law enforcement activity and National Guard resource,” the lawsuit says. “Far from promoting public safety, Defendants’ provocative and arbitrary actions threaten to undermine public safety by inciting a public outcry.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told The Hill that the president’s actions were “lawful” and would “make Portland safer.”
“President Trump is using his lawful authority to direct the National Guard to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following months of violent riots where officers have been assaulted and doxxed by left-wing rioters,” she said.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the lawsuit. The Hill has also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
September 28, 2025