As protests against immigration enforcement turn to violence across the U.S., one Democratic senator is accusing the Trump administration of faking rioting out of authoritarian impulse.
Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon made the claims Wednesday while speaking to reporters at the U.S. Capitol even as the administration ramped up law enforcement efforts to aid ICE agents and facilities under siege from protesters.
‘This is unacceptable. This is wrong. This is un-American.This is authoritarianism, plain and simple.’
“This is the first time I know of, at least in my lifetime, that the federal government has faked a riot in order to try to justify the Insurrection Act being invoked,” Merkley said, according to CNN’s Manu Raju.
Raju said Merkley cited local reporting that claimed federal law enforcement officers escalated tactics to provoke protesters in Portland just hours after a judge said the president could not deploy 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to the city.
One report from Oregon Public Broadcasting said that agents moved to push protesters away from the driveway at the ICE building on Saturday at about 8 p.m. and then continued to press them farther into neighborhood streets. Officers then dropped tear gas and other chemical munitions toward protesters before marching back to the facility.
On Sunday, Merkley responded to a report that Trump was mobilizing the California National Guard to go to Portland with accusations that the president was trying to incite violence.
“Having illegitimately attempted to federalize the Oregon National Guard and being blocked because there is no ‘invasion’ or ‘rebellion’ in Portland, Trump continues to try to incite riots and violence by deploying the California National Guard to Portland,” Merkley posted on Facebook.
“This is unacceptable. This is wrong. This is un-American.This is authoritarianism, plain and simple,” he continued.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut issued a temporary restraining order that blocked the Trump administration from sending any National Guard troops to Portland and criticized the administration.
“How could bringing in federalized National Guard from California not be in direct contravention to the temporary restraining order I issued yesterday?” she asked.
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Similar claims were made by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another Democrat, when the president ordered National Guard and active Marine troops into Los Angeles during violent anti-ICE protests in June.
“The federal government is turning the military against American citizens. This is unprecedented and threatens the very core of our democracy,” he said.
The president eventually pulled a number of troops providing security in Los Angeles.
A Blaze News request for comment to the White House was not immediately answered.
Judge Karin Immergut was appointed by Trump.
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