This archive report was first published on 17 July 2020.
Portland, Oregon, has been gripped by protests for 50 consecutive days, with demonstrators demanding an overhaul of policing and an end to militarized tactics.
However, the situation took a turn for the worse with the arrival of federal officers, who have been accused of escalating tensions and using excessive force.
One protester, Mark Pettibone, was detained by unmarked federal officers who seized him without explanation, leaving him terrified and confused.
‘One of the officers said, “It’s OK, it’s OK,” and just grabbed me and threw me into the van. Another officer pulled my beanie down, so I couldn’t see,’ Mr. Pettibone said in an interview.
Since their arrival, federal officers have shot one protester in the head with an impact munition, leaving him with severe head injuries, and filled downtown corridors with tear gas, which a federal judge has barred the Portland police from using except in the case of a safety risk.
Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland, who is also police commissioner, has called the federal response ‘irresponsible’ and asked for those deployed to stay inside federal buildings or leave the city.
Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon has described the federal response as a ‘blatant abuse of power by the federal government’.
However, federal officials, including President Trump, have continued to stake a claim to the city’s law and order, with the acting Homeland Security secretary, Chad Wolf, calling the protesters a ‘violent mob’ of anarchists emboldened by a lack of local enforcement.
