Portland, Oregon, Mayor Ted Wheeler was among the protesters tear-gassed Wednesday evening by federal agents President Donald Trump has deployed to the city amid mass demonstrations against racial injustice and police brutality.
Videos of the protests circulating online show the mayor’s encounter with federal forces after he joined protesters at the city’s federal courthouse, which has become a focal point of the protests, where he and others were targeted by the officers with volleys of tear gas.
Federal forces have occupied Portland since the July 4 weekend after DHS officials claimed they received intelligence regarding “planned attacks” on federal facilities there.
The city’s protests, which emerged in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing in May by Minneapolis police, have now continued for more than 50 consecutive days.
But Democratic local and state leaders have reported that the newly installed federal presence only escalated the unrest in Portland. Those elected officials have demanded that Trump withdraw the officers from the city.
The White House has ignored their pleas while threatening to also send federal officers to Democratic-governed cities such as Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Oakland and Philadelphia.
Trailing badly in public polling, Trump has focused increasingly on projecting a message of “law and order” while escalating a culture war on the ongoing protests, the Confederate flag and memorials honoring Confederate traitors.
Watch a video of the incident, via NBC News.
