Oregon sues Trump in bid to stop National Guard deployment to Portland
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President Trump speaks to members of the media as he departs the White House on Friday. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Oregon and Portland are suing President Trump in an effort to block his move to deploy National Guard troops to the state's largest city.
The big picture: The lawsuit that was filed on Sunday noted that following Trump's directive, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had signed a memorandum "calling 200 members of the Oregon National Guard into federal service for a period of 60 days" — which the suit called "patently unlawful."
Driving the news: Trump authorized troops in Portland on Saturday in an effort to quash protests at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in the Democrat-led city that began in early June, saying they could use "Full Force" if necessary.
- "President Trump is using his lawful authority to direct the National Guard to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following months of violent riots where officers have been assaulted and doxxed by left-wing rioters," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in an emailed statement Sunday evening.
- "The President's lawful actions will make Portland safer."
What they're saying: "Far from promoting public safety, Defendants' provocative and arbitrary actions threaten to undermine public safety by inciting a public outcry," says the suit that was filed in the U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore.
- "The facts cannot justify this overreach," adds the suit, which names as defendants Trump, the Defense Department, Hegseth, the Department of Homeland Security and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Zoom in: The suit argues that protests outside the ICE facility have been small in recent weeks, typically involving fewer than 30 people, and that demonstrators' activities "have not necessitated any arrests since mid-June."
- The administration's "heavyhanded deployment of troops threatens to escalate tensions and stokes new unrest," the suit says.
- That means more local law enforcement resources "will be spent responding to the predictable consequences" of the administration's action, per the suit.
The other side: A White House official said the U.S. Attorney's Office had brought federal charges against 26 people for alleged offenses at the Portland ICE building from June 13-Sept. 8, including arson, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, and pointed to several areas of concern in relation to the protests.
- The official said among those were three suspects she alleged were members of the anti-fascist antifa movement, who were charged with assaulting federal law enforcement officers outside the facility, "with one throwing an incendiary device at the officers."
- The official also blamed members of the decentralized, leaderless group that Trump designated a domestic terrorist group last week for rolling out a makeshift guillotine on Sept. 1.
- "Despite the crime and neighborhood pushback caused by the months-long protest, Oregon Democrats still refuse to do anything about it, with state and local law enforcement rendered unable to intervene due to sanctuary laws," the official said.
- The official also noted that Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) called Trump's offer to deploy National Guard troops in Portland "absurd, unlawful and un-American."
Zoom out: The Trump administration's action follows the federal deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, and Trump's threat to do the same in other Democrat-led cities, including New Orleans and Chicago.
- Representatives for the White House, Pentagon and DHS did not immediately respond to Axios' Sunday evening request for comment.
Go deeper: Portland leaders reject Trump's troop deployment move
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
