Report: Feds Are Sending Reinforcements to Portland

100 deputy marshals are on the way
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 27, 2020 2:35 PM CDT
Report: Feds Are Sending Reinforcements to Portland
A bloodied demonstrator is arrested by federal police during a Black Lives Matter protest at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse Monday, July 27, 2020, in Portland, Ore.   (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

State officials in Oregon say the deployment of federal officers in Portland has only made tensions worse—but the Trump administration is doubling down, according to emails seen by the Washington Post. The US Marshals Service is sending 100 deputy US marshals, the first of whom arrived Thursday, to reinforce forces around Portland's federal courthouse, according to a Marshals internal email. This would almost double the force in the area, though some of the 114 marshals now guarding the courthouse might be sent home when the reinforcements arrive, the Post notes. Administration sources say the Department of Homeland Security is also considering sending another 50 US Customs and Border Protection personnel to Portland.

Law enforcement officials tell the Post that unlike Marshals personnel previously sent to Portland, the deputy marshals now being sent to the city have little to no training in crowd control and riot response. The city has now seen 60 consecutive nights of protests following the death of George Floyd. Police made two arrests Sunday after shots were fired near the protest site. Hours later, federal agents fired tear gas and crowd-control munitions after protesters launched fireworks at the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse, the Oregonian reports. President Trump said Sunday that the protesters are "actually anarchists who hate our Country." He tweeted Monday that if federal agents weren't there to provide protection, the courthouse "wouldn't last a day." (More Portland, Oregon stories.)

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