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Trump's Portland plan: Where will troops be sent and how many? Mayor responds to threats
Donald Trump announced that he will send troops to Portland, Oregon, 'authorizing Full Force, if necessary’ to tackle ‘domestic terrorists’
President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that he will send troops to Portland, Oregon, 'authorizing Full Force, if necessary’ to tackle ‘domestic terrorists’. This comes days after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in Utah and a shooting outside an ICE facility in Dallas claimed one life.
“At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists. I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” the president said in a Truth Social post.
The White House did not immediately reveal the details of Homeland Security's plans - How many troops will be deployed, or where will they be stationed? No timeline has been announced.
Trump had previously threatened to send the National Guard into Chicago without following through. The 79-year-old has also revealed plans for Memphis, Tennessee, with about 150 troops. The Portland deployment is expected to be something like the crackdown in Los Angeles or Washington, DC in response to immigration protests.
Several Trump officials, and even the president, have time and again blamed the ‘radical left’ for Charlie Kirk's assassination and the shooting in Dallas.
ICE facility in Portland
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Portland has seen frequent demonstrations and even some violent clashes. Some federal agents have been injured, and several protesters have been charged with assault. When protesters erected a guillotine earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security described it as 'unhinged behavior'.
Trump, in comments Thursday in the Oval Office, suggested some kind of operation was in the works.
“We’re going to get out there and we’re going to do a pretty big number on those people in Portland,” he said, describing them as “professional agitators and anarchists.”
Earlier in September, Trump had described living in Portland as ‘like living in hell’ and said he was considering sending in federal troops, as he has recently threatened to do to combat crime in other cities, including Chicago and Baltimore.
Portland mayor responds
“Like other mayors across the country, I have not asked for -– and do not need -– federal intervention,” Portland's mayor, Keith Wilson, said in a statement after Trump’s threat.
(With inputs from The Associated Press)
