DeluxAuto
AntiSocial Extrovert
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2010
- Posts
- 20,156
The Feds Lost the Battle of Portland; the Secret Police Left Town and Nothing Bad Happened
Magically, as soon as federal agents withdrew from Portland, the rioting disappeared.
As restrained Oregon state police took the place of federal agents around the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse downtown, the protests were peaceful and people went home rather than engage.
Hmmm.
Let’s just roll back the clock here: Donald Trump, Attorney General William P. Barr and Homeland Security had insisted they needed to send in more than 100 federal marshals and immigration police to protect the courthouse from rioting protesters. The protesters widened a focus on social justice to object to the presence of anonymous federal agents in an abuse of presidential power. A small number were throwing bottles and starting fires in response.
Gov. Kate Brown uses state police instead, and suddenly, no rioting, no tear-gassing or pepper balls aimed at moms, no snatching of citizens from city streets into unmarked vans.
Even from afar, it all felt like a stage set for campaign ads for Trump to argue he is the Law & Order candidate protecting our cities from Them, rioting by organized leftists.
Then came a deal this week with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to use state police instead. Suddenly, there was no rioting, no tear-gassing or pepper balls aimed at moms, no snatching of citizens from city streets into unmarked vans.
Indeed, there were no reported sightings of the state police, and plenty of reports of a congenial atmosphere on the two downtown blocks near the courthouse. From the reporting there, both police and protesters seemed surprised there were no issues at all.
Maybe Trump should give up more often.