The battle over sending the National Guard into American cities intensified over the weekend and is now playing out in U.S. courts, as governors in Oregon and Illinois try to stop U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration from deploying troops.
Trump has characterized Portland as “war ravaged” and “under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.” Last week he ordered National Guard troops to the Oregon city. That was immediately challenged in court by the governor, and over the weekend a judge put a stop to the military deployment, at least for now.
Also on the weekend, Trump ordered up to 300 members of the Illinois National Guard (and 400 from Texas) to Chicago over the objections of Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Governors, mayors and citizens in both cities have said there is no lawlessness, and said suggesting they are war zones is absurd. Here’s a look at the legal fight and the situation in these cities.
Donald Trump’s plan to send the National Guard ‘to protect war-ravaged Portland’ has been met with bewilderment from many people who live there. For The National, CBC’s Ashley Fraser tries to get to the bottom of the U.S. president’s fixation on the Oregon city.
Didn’t troops already arrive in Portland?
No. Trump said on Wednesday that the National Guard was “in place” but that was not true. In fact, since his order to send them in, hundreds of troops had been moved to training facilities to prepare. Late last week, the National Guard said it would not arrive until this week at the earliest.
The State of Oregon sued the Trump administration, saying the U.S. Constitution only allows domestic military deployment in extreme circumstances that include foreign invasion or insurrection.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut agreed, and on Saturday issued a ruling temporarily blocking the deployment, saying the relatively small protests in the city did not justify the use of federalized forces.
The administration responded by ordering National Guard troops from a different state, California, into Portland instead.
Immergut seemed incredulous at this move, and issued a new ruling on Sunday, blocking any state’s troops from Oregon for 14 days.
And now Chicago?
Also on Saturday, Trump ordered hundreds of troops to Chicago, because of what White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson called “ongoing violent riots and lawlessness” that local leaders have not quelled.
Pritzker, the governor, said in a statement the move was “absolutely outrageous and un-American.” And on Monday, Illinois filed a lawsuit, arguing Trump deployed the troops only because he dislikes the governor and the mayor.
“The American people, regardless of where they reside, should not live under the threat of occupation by the United States military,” the lawsuit says.
The situation on the ground now
In Chicago over the weekend, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents stormed an apartment complex by helicopter as families slept, deployed chemical agents near a public school and handcuffed a Chicago City Council member at a hospital.
There have also been ongoing protests at the ICE facility just outside the city as civil rights activists accuse federal agents of waging a campaign of violence against peaceful protesters and journalists.
Pritzker echoed the allegation, saying any chaos happening in American cities is being caused by the federal ICE agents, not local citizens.
There were also clashes at Portland’s ICE facility on Saturday night. Officers fired pepper balls and chemical irritants into the crowd to disperse them.
What prompted all this
Small but persistent protests started at the Portland ICE facility over the summer. At one in mid-June, hundreds of protesters gathered, some using a makeshift battering ram to knock down the door. Federal officers deployed tear gas and flash grenades to break up the crowd.
Through July there were more protests, resulting dozens of arrests by federal agents and charges for offences including assault and damaging federal property.
Local police, however, did not make arrests and had a different impression of the situation. A sergeant described a group of about 30 protesters as “low energy and seated quietly.”
Another protest on Sept. 1 may have been the final straw for Trump, when more than 100 people marched to the ICE building, some pulling a makeshift guillotine.
Four days later, Trump for the first time said he was considering federal intervention, claiming protesters had ruined the city.
Oregon officials knew what this meant. The governor, Tina Kotek, said “threats to deploy National Guard troops in Portland” were “absurd, unlawful and un-American.”
Portland citizens also shot back.
“It’s really difficult for me to see Portland framed in a way that just is fundamentally untrue,” said Nate Hellman, a pastor. He made a video challenging the “war ravaged” characterization. He drove around, seeing calm streets and people walking normally through downtown. He said the only hellscape in the city is the bad traffic.
What happens now?
The order barring troops from Oregon is currently only for two weeks. Oregon and California officials say they will attempt to get it extended.
But there is no indication so far that Trump will back down from this fight. His press secretary, Karoline Leavitt said today the administration will appeal the decision. “We expect a hearing on it pretty quickly and we’re very confident in the president’s legal authority to do this,” she said.
