Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) today spoke out against federal officers “rounding people up at will” in Portland, Ore., saying the handling of unrest there should be left to local law enforcement.
“We cannot give up liberty for security. Local law enforcement can and should be handling these situations in our cities but there is no place for federal troops or unidentified federal agents rounding people up at will,” Paul tweeted today.
The senator linked to a post on the conservative blog HotAir about reports of protesters in Portland being detained by officers in unmarked vans. The link criticizes the federal officers’ presence as attempting to convey “to vandals, protesters, whoever, that there’ll be no accountability for anything these guys end up doing to them.”
We cannot give up liberty for security. Local law enforcement can and should be handling these situations in our cities but there is no place for federal troops or unidentified federal agents rounding people up at will. https://t.co/vkSHmlOzDW
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 20, 2020
The Department of Homeland Security has deployed the forces to the city over the objections of local and state officials, with both President Trump and acting Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli saying they could take similar steps in other U.S. cities in coming weeks.
Three House Democratic chairs on Sunday wrote to Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz and Homeland Security Department Inspector General Joseph Cuffari calling for an investigation into the deployment.
Meanwhile, judge Andrew Napolitano slammed the Trump administration for sending federal law enforcement to Portland in response to violent protests in Oregon’s largest city, with the Fox News senior judicial analyst calling the move “unconstitutional” and “just plain wrong.”
His remarks come as Portland officials have requested the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) withdraw after videos of protesters being taken off the street by federal officers in unmarked cars prompted outrage.
“You have anarchy on one hand,” Napolitano said. “If the troops come in the streets, you have a potential for even more violence on the other hand.”
“What happened in Portland over the weekend, it was not only unlawful and unconstitutional, it’s just plain wrong,” the former New Jersey Superior Court judge continued. “Sending armed, untrained police into the streets wearing fatigues without the knowledge or consent of the local police actually caused more violence.”
Napolitano also talked about a complaint by Oregon’s attorney general against DHS that included allegations of kidnapping and blindfolding.
“You have a lot of peaceful demonstrators,” Napolitano argued. “The complaint filed by the attorney general of Oregon against the Department of Homeland Security recounts horror stories of peaceful people being kidnapped, held blindfold, handcuffed, and incommunicado for just two hours and then let go. There is no reason to disturb those people. The people they should stop are the ones with the baseball bats.”
“The federal government can’t do what it doesn’t have the authority to do,” he added. “And it shouldn’t do anything without the coordination of the locals.”
Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf told Fox News on Monday that he does not need an “invitation” from local officials before deploying federal law enforcement.
“I don’t need invitations by the state, state mayors or state governors to do our job. We’re going to do that, whether they like us there or not,” Wolf said.
“We want to work with them, and we have a great working relationship with the vast majority of local law enforcement,” he added. “However, there are some communities that, again, want to breed this environment that allows this lawlessness.”
The mayor of Portland demanded Friday that Trump remove militarized federal agents he deployed to the city after some detained people on streets far from federal property they were sent to protect.
“Keep your troops in your own buildings, or have them leave our city,” Mayor Ted Wheeler said at a news conference.
Democratic Gov. Kate Brown said Trump is looking for a confrontation in the hopes of winning political points elsewhere.
It also serves as a distraction from the coronavirus pandemic, which is causing spiking numbers of infections in Oregon and the nation.
Brown’s spokesman, Charles Boyle, said Friday that arresting people without probable cause is “extraordinarily concerning and a violation of their civil liberties and constitutional rights.”
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said she would file a lawsuit in federal court against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Marshals Service, Customs and Border Protection and Federal Protection Service alleging they have violated the civil rights of Oregonians by detaining them without probable cause. She will also seek a temporary restraining order against them.
The ACLU of Oregon said the federal agents appear to be violating people’s rights, which “should concern everyone in the United States.”
“Usually when we see people in unmarked cars forcibly grab someone off the street we call it kidnapping,” said Jann Carson, interim executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon. “The actions of the militarized federal officers are flat-out unconstitutional and will not go unanswered.”
Trump today signaled he may order federal agents to be deployed to Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia and other major cities as he threatens to crack down further on unrest across the country.