U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered the deployment of the military to Portland, marking the fourth city targeted in his campaign against crime in Democratic-run metropolitan areas, and authorized “the use of force if necessary.”
“I am directing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to deploy all necessary troops to protect Portland, ravaged by war, and our ICE facilities, besieged by Antifa and other domestic terrorists,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“I also authorize the maximum use of force if needed,” he added, without specifying what that entails.
Portland has seen months of protests against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. Earlier in September, Trump threatened to send the National Guard to the city, Oregon’s largest and also Democratic-led.
Two weeks ago, Trump signed an order deploying National Guard troops to Memphis, Tennessee, citing what he described as rampant crime. Memphis, a majority-Black city, is led by a Democratic mayor in a Republican-governed state.
Following deployments in Los Angeles in June, National Guard troops were sent to Washington, D.C., in mid-August. Trump has also threatened to send federal officers and troops to Chicago, New York, and Baltimore.
On Monday, he signed an order designating the Antifa movement, which includes anti-fascist groups, as a “terrorist organization.”
AFP
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