Trump-appointed judge blocks his attempt to deploy National Guard in Portland amid protests
PORTLAND, OREGON: A federal judge has reportedly put the brakes on President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy the National Guard to Portland.
The ruling comes as hundreds of demonstrators continue to clash with federal agents outside the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, where tensions have been flaring for months.
Judge blocks Donald Trump's law and order push in Portland
US District Judge Karin Immergut, whom Trump himself appointed, issued a temporary restraining order halting the administration’s deployment plan. The move prevents the feds from sending National Guard troops into Portland for now.
The order expires in 14 days on October 18, temporarily blocking Trump’s attempt to federalize 200 members of Oregon’s National Guard for the next two months. The troops were set to guard the ICE facility that’s been ground zero for anti-immigration protests since early summer.
“The relationship between the federal government and the states, between the military and domestic law enforcement, and the balance of powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government,” Judge Immergut wrote in her ruling. “Whether we choose to follow what the Constitution mandates with respect to these three relationships goes to the heart of what it means to live under the rule of law in the United States.”
Donald Trump calls Portland a 'war-ravaged city' amid chaos
The ruling comes just days after Trump blasted Portland as a “war-ravaged” city that was “under siege by Antifa terrorists,” vowing to restore order with federal force. But protesters weren’t exactly rolling out the red carpet for the troops.
On Saturday, about 400 people showed up for a “No National Guard in Portland” rally, marching from Elizabeth Caruthers Park to the ICE facility with a helicopter tailing them the whole way. Once they arrived, things turned ugly fast. Federal agents lobbed tear gas into the crowd and made six arrests.
It wasn’t the first clash of the week either. On Friday night, two locals were cuffed after allegedly going at each other during the protests. They were both slapped with Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree charges and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center.
Cops said one of them was carrying a can of bear spray and a collapsible metal coil baton.
Police later said in a statement, “There were individuals who gathered to confront one another and passionately debate their opposing points of view. The police presence, targeted arrests, and announcements from the Portland Police Bureau Sound Truck were effective in suppressing any physical fights breaking out.”
The tension didn’t start overnight. Tuesday saw the first big blow-up, when more than 100 rioters stormed the ICE center, injuring several agents in the process, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Six people were arrested that night, and that sparked more unrest on Wednesday.
By the next evening, officers were firing pepper balls from the roof of the facility to disperse angry crowds. Despite all this, Judge Immergut insisted that most of the protests “were small and uneventful" before Trump’s order. “Overall, the protests were small and uneventful,” she declared in her ruling. “The President’s determination was simply untethered to the facts.”
White House expects 'to be vindicated by a higher court'
The Trump team isn’t taking the loss quietly. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the New York Post, “President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement — we expect to be vindicated by a higher court.”
On Friday, Trump ordered his team to find federal funds to cut in Portland as punishment for what he called “ongoing anarchy.”
“I just spoke with the president about this, and he has directed his team here at the White House to begin reviewing aid that can potentially be cut in Portland,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a Friday briefing. “We will not fund states that allow anarchy. There will also be an additional surge of federal resources to Portland immediately. Law and order will prevail and President Trump will make sure of it.”
Meanwhile, US Attorney General Pam Bondi has opened an investigation into the Portland Police Bureau after officers arrested conservative reporter Nick Sortor on Thursday night while he was covering the chaos.
