Trump orders troops to Portland, Oregon, in latest deployment to US cities
PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) 鈥 President Donald Trump said Saturday he will send troops to Portland, Oregon, “authorizing Full Force, if necessary鈥 to handle 鈥渄omestic terrorists鈥 as he expands his controversial deployments to more American cities.
By Claire Rush And Chris Megerian The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) 鈥 President Donald Trump said Saturday he will send troops to Portland, Oregon, “authorizing Full Force, if necessary鈥 to handle 鈥渄omestic terrorists鈥 as he expands his controversial deployments to more American cities.
He made the announcement on social media, writing that he was directing the Department of Defense to 鈥減rovide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland.鈥 Trump said the decision was necessary to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, which he described as 鈥渦nder siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.鈥
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for details on Trump鈥檚 announcement, such as a timeline for the deployment or what troops would be involved.
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At a Friday night news conference, Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley warned the public that Trump would try to create chaos. 鈥淒on鈥檛 take the bait,鈥 he said.
鈥淥ur responsibility is to, yes, express our views. Yes, protest,鈥 Merkley said. “But best done at a distance from these federal troops, wherever they might be and whatever they are doing, because their goal is to create an engagement, an engagement that will lead to conflict.鈥
Trump previously threatened to send the National Guard into Chicago but has yet to follow through. A deployment in Memphis, Tennessee, is expected soon and will include , far less than were sent to the for Trump鈥檚 crackdown on crime or in in response to immigration protests that turned violent with the troops’ arrival. Trump also sent Marines to Los Angeles.
Pentagon officials did not immediately respond to requests for information. Nor did the office of Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said Friday night that the city already was seeing a sudden surge in federal agents, describing armored vehicles and agents arriving on the streets.
鈥淲e did not ask for them to come,鈥 the Democratic mayor said. 鈥淭hey are here without clear precedent or purpose.鈥
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Portland, population 636,000, was the site of long-running and sometimes violent racial justice protests following George Floyd鈥檚 murder by Minneapolis police in 2020. The Trump administration sent hundreds of agents, including from the U.S. Border Patrol, for the stated purpose of protecting the federal courthouse and other federal property from vandalism.
Recent protests have been far more muted and focused on the area around the ICE building, located outside the city鈥檚 downtown that was the heart of the 2020 protests. The building鈥檚 main entrance and ground-floor windows have been boarded up and tagged with graffiti.
Some federal agents have been injured and several protesters have been charged with assault. Some demonstrators also say they鈥檝e been injured. When protesters erected a guillotine earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security described it as 鈥渦nhinged behavior.鈥
Meantime, city groups and officials have sought to highlight the recovery of the downtown area since 2020.
This summer was reportedly the busiest for pedestrian traffic since before the coronavirus pandemic, and overall violent crime in Portland from January through June decreased by 17% this year compared to the same period in 2024, a recent report from the Major Cities Chiefs Association found. The downtown has seen a decrease in homeless tent encampments that defined the years immediately after the pandemic.
Since the Sept. 10 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Trump has escalated his efforts to confront what he calls the 鈥渞adical left,鈥 which he blames for the country鈥檚 problems with political violence.
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Trump, in comments Thursday in the Oval Office, suggested some kind of operation was in the works.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to get out there and we鈥檙e going to do a pretty big number on those people in Portland,鈥 he said, describing them as 鈥減rofessional agitators and anarchists.鈥
