President Donald Trump stated Wednesday that National Guard troops have been deployed in Oregon to restore order amid violent anti-ICE demonstrations. Trump announced the Guard’s deployment on Saturday, posting on Truth Social that at the behest of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, he would “provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.” The president added that he was “authorizing Full Force, if necessary.”
Left-wing agitators have besieged an ICE facility in Portland since June, with full support from city officials who have attempted to thwart operations by issuing notices for land use violations. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek (D) said during a news conference Saturday that she had spoken with both Trump and Noem and made it “abundantly clear” that the state can handle its own “public safety needs.” “There is no insurrection. There is no threat to national security, and there is no need for military troops in our major city,” she told reporters. Kotek and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson (D) have both stood firmly behind the anti-ICE agitators, who have been loud, obstructive, and at times violent—especially toward the media.
Independent journalist Katie Daviscourt was assaulted by an Antifa goon outside the ICE facility last night, with Portland Police failing to make an arrest. “The suspect walked up to me and hit me in the face with her flag pole, swinging it like a baseball bat,” Daviscourt recounted on X. “The suspect escaped into the Antifa safe house — an apartment unit near the ICE facility that has been harboring Antifa militants involved in the occupation — with the help of her comrades,” she reported in a follow-up post. “Portland Police still refuse to make an arrest.” The journalist was sporting a black eye Wednesday morning when she appeared on Human Events Live to share her firsthand account of what happened.
“Police did absolutely nothing last night … I’m glad to see President Trump is deploying the National Guard. This place needs a lot of help,” she told host Jack Posobiec. Trump said Wednesday that National Guard troops were needed to back up these outnumbered federal officers. “Our GREAT Federal Law Enforcement Officers have not been able to enforce the Laws in Oregon,” the president posted on Truth Social. “ANTIFA and the Radical Left Anarchists have been viciously attacking our Federal Law Enforcement Officers, men and women who are simply doing their job, protecting Federal Property, and enforcing Federal Immigration Laws and the Rule of Law. We will never allow MOBS to take over our streets, burn our Cities, or destroy America. The National Guard is now in place, and has been dedicated to restoring LAW AND ORDER, and ending the Chaos, Death, and Destruction! We are a Nation of LAW, and we will PREVAIL.”
Trump also responded to Gov. Kotek’s insistence that there was no national security issue in Portland. “The Governor of Oregon must be living in a ‘Dream World,’” Trump posted. “Portland is a NEVER-ENDING DISASTER. Many people have been badly hurt, and even killed. It is run like a Third World Country. We’re only going in because, as American Patriots, WE HAVE NO CHOICE. LAW AND ORDER MUST PREVAIL IN OUR CITIES, AND EVERYWHERE ELSE!”
