by & nbspjerry fisayo-bambi & nbspwith & nbspAP
It’s published
•update
President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would send troops to Portland, Oregon, and “treat domestic terrorists” to “recognise full power if necessary.”
Trump announced this on social media, writing that he was instructing the Department of Defense to “provide all the military it needs to protect war-torn Portland.”
According to Trump, the decision is necessary to protect U.S. immigration and customs facilities, and he said he was “under siege from attacks by Antifa and other domestic terrorists.”
No details on the deployment timeline in Portland, or anything to which the forces are involved, have been given, and the White House has not issued a statement regarding this.
Since the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Trump has stepped up efforts to target the so-called “radical left.”
He deployed the National Guard and Active Marines in Los Angeles over the summer as part of his acquisition of law enforcement in the District of Columbia.
Portland protesters target ice facilities
Portland ice facilities are targets of frequent demonstrations and sometimes lead to violent clashes. Some federal agents have been injured and some protesters have been charged with assault.
When protesters built the guillotine earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security described it as “indifference action.”
Speaking in the oval office on Thursday, Trump suggested that some kind of operation was ongoing. “We’re going to go out there and do quite a few things to the people in Portland,” he says, describing them as “professional agitators and anarchists.”
He once called his life in Portland “live in hell,” and said he was considering sending federal troops after he recently threatened to fight crime in other cities, including Chicago and Baltimore.
In response to Trump’s threat, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said in a statement. “Like any other mayor across the country, I don’t seek and don’t need federal intervention.”
Wilson said his city protected freedom of expression while “attacking occasional violence and property destruction.”
In Tennessee, Memphis has withstanded an influx of around 150 National Guard troops, and on Friday, Republican Gov. Bill Lee said they will be part of a surge in resources to fight crime in the city.
Trump previously threatened to send the National Guard to Chicago without following him.