President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of \u201call necessary\u201d troops to Portland to secure the city and protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel.<\/p>\n
He added he was \u201cauthorizing full force, if necessary,\u201d as daily protests at the federal ICE detention facility \u2014 which have intensified since June \u2014 continue.<\/p>\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,\u201d Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform. \u201cI am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s announcement follows several high-profile attacks on ICE officers and recent steps by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to increase enforcement against assaults on federal personnel.<\/p>\n
Portland has been described by the Department of Homeland Security as a focal point for Antifa activity, where demonstrators have repeatedly \u201cattacked and laid siege\u201d to the federal ICE facility.<\/p>\n
DHS said incidents have included an individual aiming a laser at an ICE officer\u2019s eyes, the use of a smoke grenade directed at multiple officers, and attempts to damage equipment at the site, the New York Post\u00a0reports.<\/p>\n
An increased federal presence in Portland has followed weeks of unrest, prompting appeals from local officials for protesters to stay peaceful. On Friday, a grand jury indicted three women accused of following an ICE agent home and livestreaming the agent\u2019s address on Instagram.<\/p>\n
Two days earlier, a suspected sniper opened fire at an ICE facility in Texas, wounding at least three migrants; investigators recovered a bullet at the scene that bore the words \u201canti ICE,\u201d authorities said.<\/p>\n
In response to rising violence, the White House has deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., and Memphis, and earlier this year briefly sent troops to Los Angeles amid rioting concerns.<\/p>\n
The Joint Terrorism Task Forces will investigate \u201cdomestic terrorism,\u201d and seek the \u201cmost serious available charges against all participants in these criminal mobs,\u201d the AG wrote on X.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have witnessed the continued onslaught of violence perpetrated against ICE officers across our country,\u201d Bondi posted. \u201cThe Department of Justice will not stand idly by in the face of such lawlessness.\u201d She added: \u201cThe rule of law will prevail.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bondi also stated that the Trump administration will have a \u201czero tolerance\u201d policy for any form of political violence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you so much as touch one of our federal officers, you will go to prison,\u201d she warned in a video.<\/p>\n
White House chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller \u2014 a noted immigration hawk \u2014 praised the crackdown on Friday, declaring, \u201cThis campaign of terrorism will be brought down.\u201d<\/p>\n