Protests over racial injustice and police violence have continued nightly in downtown Portland this week, and so has the federal response.
Federal law enforcement officers continue to police the protests, and that has introduced a level of force that has prompted sharp criticism from local and state leaders.
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Portland, joined OPB "Morning Edition" host Geoff Norcross Wednesday to talk about his frustration with the ongoing situation. You can listen to the entire conversation using the audio player at the top of this story.
Geoff Norcross: Federal officers have been in Portland for two weeks now, and you've seen their tactics. What's your reaction to them?
Rep. Earl Blumenauer: I think it's a made-for-TV provocation. They couldn't be that inept. They have taken a situation where the community had been responding, being able to deescalate unparalleled areas of cooperation and deliberately inflamed it. … It's just infuriated people and appropriately so. I think it is just an effort on part of Donald Trump to distract from his failures of leadership, particularly dealing with the coronavirus and have some footage that is going to help him in his political efforts.
Norcross: The acting secretary of homeland security, Chad Wolf, held a press conference Tuesday. He said everything that federal officers doing is legitimate. He said that they're making lawful arrests. They're properly identifying themselves. Do you not believe that?
Blumenauer: No. Under those circumstances, it's very difficult to know exactly who's there. ... They have dramatically increased their scope of activities. We have video that shows people just standing there being assaulted by federal officials. The projectile in the head requiring major surgery, one of my constituents beaten when he simply asked a civil question to authorities there, broke his hand, gassed him in the face. This is inappropriate. It extends far beyond what is, I think, lawful and appropriate. It's why local officials are involved with pursuing legal action against them and why our congressional delegation is looking for elements to defund and rein it in.
Norcross: You probably know Portland political history as well as, if not better, than anyone. Can you give me a sense of how that history has played into the Trump administration's decision to make this the test case for the use of federal law enforcement to quell protests?
Blumenauer: Well, we have a long tradition of of active citizens who protest against things they are deeply concerned about. But we also have a history of racial intolerance and discrimination. We're watching people being touched by the events nationally and locally. I think this is in the tradition of Oregon, the same way that we've watched leaders in the Black community, the community of faith, trying to help keep it under control. And to just deliberately try and inflame passions where they're unwanted, they're unwelcome and they're unprepared. I think it's a tragedy, and we're likely to see it in other parts of the country.
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Norcross: The president is talking about sending similar forces to other cities. Do you have any advice for the officials in places like Chicago and Oakland or Philadelphia to prevent the kind of violence from federal officers we've experienced in Portland?
Blumenauer: I have been flooded by inquiries from colleagues. The leadership in the House, the speaker, the majority leader, have all been appalled. It is important that these cities are coordinated in their efforts, that they stand up for the rights and responsibilities they have and not have the federal government interfere with their efforts to try and police their own community. That's their job. Donald Trump ought to take care of the coronavirus and not interfere with people across the country who are trying their best under very difficult circumstances.
Norcross: We are in a stalemate here. Local leaders have demanded federal officers leave and they have refused. Do you see a way out of this situation?
Blumenauer: We’re working hard to first of all have investigations in terms of what actually happened. We’re looking for opportunities to defund some of those activities. I have colleagues that have joined me with legislation that would limit what [federal officers] can do beyond the scope of protecting immediately federal properties. I think we’re going to shine a spotlight on this, and there’s a lot of interest in trying to rein it in.