\n President Donald Trump said Saturday he will send troops to Portland, Oregon, a city he described as \u201cwar ravaged,\u201d to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities he claimed are \u201cunder siege\u201d by Antifa and \u201cother domestic terrorists.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cAt 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,\u201d Trump wrote in a social media post<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n The White House did not provide additional comment when reached by CNN for clarification on what the president meant by \u201cfull force\u201d and which troops would be sent to the city.\n <\/p>\n \n Shortly after Trump\u2019s post, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the Trump administration is investigating the \u201chighly organized\u201d nature of protests in certain American cities, claiming that some are being paid and funded.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is these riots and these protests are becoming highly organized. We\u2019re seeing that people are being bused in,\u201d McLaughlin said on Fox News. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at President Trump has directed a whole of government approach to be looking at those funding streams, who is sowing this chaos in this violence American communities, and who\u2019s, who\u2019s paying for this?\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n There is no evidence of McLaughlin\u2019s claims.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWhether it be in Portland, whether it be in Chicago or otherwise, we will bring the resources we need to make sure that Americans are safe,\u201d she added.\n <\/p>\n \n State and local leaders, including US Sen. Jeff Merkley, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, US Rep. Maxine Dexter and City Council members, urged the community to stay peaceful at a news conference on Friday night, according to CNN affiliate KPTV<\/a>, after the city saw an increase in activity by federal agents.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cHere is what I do know \u2013 the president has sent agents here to create chaos and riots here in Portland, to induce a reaction. To induce protests. To induce conflicts. His goal is to make Portland look as he was describing it as,\u201d Merkley said. \u201cOur job is to say, \u2018We are not going to take the bait.\u2019\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Wilson in a statement Saturday<\/a> said there is no need to send troops, adding the president \u201cwill not find lawlessness or violence here unless he plans to perpetrate it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cImagine if the federal government sent hundreds of engineers, or teachers, or outreach workers to Portland, instead of a short, expensive, and fruitless show of force,\u201d the mayor wrote.\n <\/p>\n \n Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek wrote on social media<\/a> Saturday her office had not been notified why the troops were being deployed.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cMy office is reaching out to the White House and Homeland Security for more information. We have been provided no information on the reason or purpose of any military mission,\u201d Kotek wrote. \u201cThere is no national security threat in Portland. Our communities are safe and calm.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Trump\u2019s announcement comes after a shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas by a gunman who investigators believe intended to target<\/a> ICE personnel and property. He killed one detainee and seriously injured<\/a> two others.\n <\/p>\n \n An ICE facility about 2 miles south of downtown Portland has been at the center of almost constant protests throughout the summer. Most of the demonstrations have been peaceful, but some have ended in the deployment of tear gas<\/a> and resulted in the facility being closed for several days over the summer.\n <\/p>\n \n Earlier this month, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Portland wasn\u2019t necessarily on his radar as a city where federal intervention was necessary. But he claimed without evidence that \u201cpaid terrorists\u201d are wreaking havoc on the city.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThese are paid agitators, and they\u2019re very dangerous for our country. And when we go there, if we go to Portland, we\u2019re going to wipe them out,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to be gone.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Trump earlier this month designated Antifa<\/a> \u2013 the loose factions of black-clad leftists or anarchists who show up at protests opposing the police or government \u2013 as a \u201cmajor terrorist organization.\u201d The White House has emphasized incidents in Portland, home to one of the oldest organizations<\/a> in the country to carry the Antifa moniker, in its statements about the designation.\n <\/p>\n