PORTLAND, Ore. — PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) \u2014 <\/p>\n
President Donald Trump<\/a> said Saturday that he will send troops to Portland<\/a>, \u201cauthorizing Full Force, if necessary\u201d to handle \u201cdomestic terrorists\u201d as he expands his deployments to more American cities.<\/p>\n Oregon Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek responded by saying Trump is abusing his authority by ordering troops into a city that she said is doing \u201cjust fine\u201d on its own. She was joined by other government, police and business leaders who all said soldiers are not needed and Trump is presenting a patently false picture of the city.<\/p>\n Trump made his announcement on social media, writing that he was directing the Department of Defense to \u201cprovide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland.\u201d Trump said the decision was necessary to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, which he alleged are \u201cunder siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.\u201d <\/p>\n The White House did not immediately respond to a request for details on Trump\u2019s announcement, such as a timeline for the deployment or what troops would be involved. <\/p>\n In an afternoon news conference, Kotek said she directly told Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier in the day that troops are not needed and she believes he does not have the authority to deploy the military there.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can manage our own local public safety needs. There is no insurrection. There is no threat to national security,\u201d Kotek told reporters.<\/p>\n The governor said she \u201ctried to understand his reasoning\u201d during their conversation and his response was just, \u201cLet\u2019s keep talking.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an American city. We do not need any intervention,\u201d Mayor Keith Wilson said at the news conference. \u201cThis is not a military target.\u201d<\/p>\n Kotek said the president did not give a timetable for troops arriving. She said she told him the Oregon National Guard is not needed and she does not plan to call it up. <\/p>\n Trump, however, previously deployed guard soldiers and active duty Marines in Los Angeles even though California Gov. Gavin Newsom opposed it. The federal government is appealing a judge’s ruling<\/a> that Trump’s use of the guard was illegal.<\/p>\n Kotek urged the public to stay calm, saying any kind of property damage or violence will not be tolerated.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s not take the bait,\u201d she said. \u201cLet\u2019s not respond to what the president is trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier Saturday there was no sign of any federal presence downtown, where people jogged along the Willamette River, relaxed by a riverside fountain or rode bikes on a sunny fall day.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere\u2019s the emergency?\u201d asked resident Allen Schmertzler, 72, who said he was \u201cdisgusted\u201d by the president\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n Another, John McNeur, 74, called Trump’s statement \u201cridiculous.\u201d He pointed out that he was taking \u201ca leisurely stroll\u201d along the river on a peaceful, sunny day.<\/p>\n \u201cThis place is not a city that\u2019s out of control,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a beautiful place.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump previously threatened to send the National Guard into Chicago but has yet to follow through. A deployment in Memphis, Tennessee, is expected soon and will include only about 150 troops<\/a>, far less than were sent to the District of Columbia<\/a> for Trump\u2019s crackdown on crime or to Los Angeles<\/a> in response to immigration protests that turned violent with the troops\u2019 arrival.<\/p>\n In Memphis, about 80 to 100 people marched to a plaza in front of City Hall to protest the expected arrival next week of the guard and more than a dozen federal law enforcement agencies, ranging from immigration to drug enforcement.<\/p>\n Protesters held signs with messages such as \u201cResources Not Task Forces\u201d and \u201cMemphis don\u2019t need no occupation, Memphis don\u2019t need no government control\u201d \u2014 a play on the Pink Floyd song \u201cAnother Brick in the Wall.\u201d<\/p>\n Speakers said beforehand that instead of federal troops and agents, Memphis needs more funding for education, crime prevention, youth services and hospitals. The Oregon officials made similar comments.<\/p>\n Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the Department of Defense would provide information and updates when available.<\/p>\n \u201cWe stand ready to mobilize U.S. military personnel in support of DHS operations in Portland at the President\u2019s direction,” Parnell said.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Oregon National Guard, Lt. Col. Stephen Bomar, said via email that \u201cno official requests have been received at this time\u201d for Guard support. \u201cAny requests would need to be coordinated through the Governor\u2019s office,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Oregon’s congressional delegation, with the exception of GOP Rep. Cliff Bentz, demanded that the Trump administration keep federal agents and troops out of Portland.<\/p>\n \u201cThis unilateral action represents an abuse of executive authority, seeks to incite violence, and undermines the constitutional balance of power between the federal government and states,\u201d the Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter<\/a> to Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Noem. <\/p>\n Portland, population 636,000, was the site of long-running and sometimes violent<\/a> racial justice protests following George Floyd\u2019s killing by Minneapolis police in 2020. The Trump administration sent hundreds of agents, including from the U.S. Border Patrol, for the stated purpose of protecting the federal courthouse and other federal property from vandalism.<\/p>\n Recent demonstrations have been far more muted and focused on the area around the ICE building. It\u2019s located outside downtown, which was the heart of the 2020 protests. Its main entrance and ground-floor windows have been boarded up and were previously tagged with graffiti. <\/p>\n Some federal agents have been injured and several protesters have been charged with assault. Some demonstrators also say they been injured. When protesters erected a prop guillotine earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security called it \u201cunhinged behavior.\u201d <\/p>\n Police Chief Bob Day said at the news conference that his agency does not participate in immigration enforcement. He said afterward that Federal Protective Services is responsible for the ICE building and police would intervene only against vandalism or criminal activity in the surrounding area.<\/p>\n The city said this month that it would issue a land use violation notice<\/a> to its ICE building because it was used to detain people overnight or for more than 12 hours \u2014 violations of its conditional land use approval. DHS said detainees are briefly processed before being sent to other detention facilities.<\/p>\n Portland is one of a number of so-called sanctuary cities. There is no strict definition for sanctuary cities<\/a>, but the term generally describes places that limit cooperation with ICE.<\/p>\n City groups and officials have sought to highlight the recovery of the downtown area since 2020.<\/p>\n This summer was reportedly the busiest for pedestrian traffic since before the pandemic, and overall violent crime from January through June decreased by 17% compared with the same period in 2024, a recent report from the Major Cities Chiefs Association found. The downtown has seen a decrease in homeless encampments.<\/p>\n Since the Sept. 10 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk<\/a>, Trump has escalated efforts to confront<\/a> what he calls the \u201cradical left,\u201d which he blames for political violence.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to get out there and we\u2019re going to do a pretty big number on those people in Portland,\u201d Trump said Thursday in the Oval Office. He called such people \u201cprofessional agitators and anarchists.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Megerian reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin in Washington, Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, and Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis contributed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORTLAND, Ore. — PORTLAND, Ore. 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