روما بت
ماه بت
پین باهیس
بهترین سایت شرط بندی
بت کارت
یاس بت
یک بت
مگاپاری
اونجا بت
alvinbet.org
بت برو
بت فا
بت فوروارد
وان ایکس بت
1win giriş
بت وینر
بهترین سایت شرط بندی ایرانی
1xbet giriş
وان کیک بت
وین بت
ریتزو بت
1xbet-ir.com.co/
https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/paperiounblocked2?lang=EN https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/agariounblockedschool1?lang=EN https://yohoho-io.app/ https://2.yohoho-io.net/paper.io unblocked https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/yohoho-unblocked-76?lang=EN https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/agariounblockedpvp https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/yohoho?lang=EN
HomeNews Portland  Mayor Condemns Masked Federal Agents Abducting Protesters

 Portland  Mayor Condemns Masked Federal Agents Abducting Protesters

Published on

Anonymous masked federal agents in military uniforms jump out of unmarked minivans, abducting seemingly random people on the street in Portland, frightening new viral videos show. Officers from the U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group and Customs and Border Protection’s BORTAC have been sent to the city to tamp down of 49 days of continuous demonstrations against racist police brutality. The move appears to be the Trump administration’s latest tactic to crush the nationwide protests that erupted in late May over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police.

One video shows individuals in battle fatigues pull up beside a small group of people on a deserted Portland street, arresting one man without identifying themselves or saying anything and putting him into the back of a minivan. “It sounds more like abduction. It sounds like they’re kidnapping people off the streets,” said Juan Chavez, director of the civil rights project at the Oregon Justice Resource Center, who has been working on issues of police brutality on protestors for weeks. “It’s like stop and frisk meets Guantanamo Bay,” he said, adding that he found the new events “terrifying.”

Repressive tactics have increased since Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf began involving himself and his department in the protests, with federal agents firing tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators. Homeland Security has justified its invasion, claiming that Portland has been “under siege for 47 straight days by a violent mob while local political leaders refuse to restore order to protect their city. Each night, lawless anarchists destroy and desecrate property.” The DHS claims that “violent anarchists” have wrecked the city, although the examples of destruction they give, such as graffiti and throwing rocks, appear trifling in comparison to abduction. Wolf himself arrived in Portland recently, declaring that, “Our men and women in uniform are patriots. We will never surrender to violent extremists on my watch.”

Wolf’s actions have received strong condemnation from demonstrators, human rights groups, and even local politicians who have unequivocally told federal agents to leave. Mayor of Portland Ted Wheeler claimed that, “This is clearly a coordinated strategy from the White House. It is irresponsible and it is escalating an already tense situation. Remove your heightened troop presence now,” adding that the city neither needed nor wanted their help. Local congressman Earl Blumenauer was similarly forthright, placing the blame for the violence on government forces. “Chad Wolf just arrived in Portland. Here’s my message: go home Chad and take your unlawful DHS agents with you. The Trump admin has no place occupying and inciting violence in our community,” he tweeted late last night.

The demonstrators can also count on the support of the American Civil Liberties Union, who issued a statement reading, “Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland are being assaulted — shot in the head, swept away in unmarked cars, repeatedly tear gassed — by uninvited and unwelcome federal officers. We won’t rest until these federal officers are gone.”

The “shot in the head” comment refers to the case of Donavan LaBella, a 26-year-old protester shot outside the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse in Portland on Saturday. LaBella was holding a speaker over his head when police shot him in the face at close range with a rubber bullet. Video shows him instantly collapse on the street. Even as others retrieve his body, a large pool of blood is already noticeable where he fell. LaBella’s mother confirmed he survived the incident, but that he needed facial reconstruction surgery, with doctors inserting a titanium plate into his head.

Portland has been a hotspot of protest since the police killing of George Floyd on May 25 and has seen seven weeks of nightly demonstrations. The Trump administration decided to confront the protests with force rather than negotiate or co-opt them, the president infamously suggesting the National Guard should shoot any “looters.” A recent poll found that two-thirds of Americans support the Black Lives Matter movement. Thus, it is unlikely that the new escalation of violence will win the president many new supporters, something he may need come November’s election.

Feature photo | Police stand as protesters gather during a demonstration, July 16, 2020 in Portland, Ore. Beth Nakamura | The Oregonian via AP

Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in ReportingThe GuardianSalonThe GrayzoneJacobin MagazineCommon Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.

The post  Portland  Mayor Condemns Masked Federal Agents Abducting Protesters appeared first on MintPress News.

Latest articles

Workers force Europe’s capitalists to act on Palestine

Home » Editorials » Workers force Europe’s capitalists to act on Palestine Generally the capitalist class and its state apparatus conduct themselves in a manner detrimental to workers and oppressed people. Yet sometimes there’s a deviation from this pattern. When that happens, it’s important to examine how the pressure from the working class pushed the…

The Global Sumud (Steadfast) Flotilla heads to Gaza

The Global Sumud Flotilla, which is bringing food and humanitarian aid to Gaza, with its participants hoping to establish a humanitarian corridor for the continuation of that aid — and to break Israel’s naval blockade — is still on its way to Gaza. This is despite Israel’s assaults with drone attacks, sound bombs, explosive flares…

Disobey Trump! Obey humanity!

Home » Editorials » Disobey Trump! Obey humanity! We recently discussed the name change of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, highlighting Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s apparent satisfaction with that change, which pointed toward imbuing the troops with a culture of wanton massacre. Today we have to admit we misjudged Hegseth’s…

Venezuela resistance meeting in NYC sets a new tone

By Sara Flounders and Tom Burke New York City This report is written by Sara Flounders, a leading member of Workers World Party, and Tom Burke, a leading member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization. A packed Assembly Hall at the prestigious Riverside Church in Manhattan was draped in Venezuelan colors and flags of resistance on…

More like this

Workers force Europe’s capitalists to act on Palestine

Home » Editorials » Workers force Europe’s capitalists to act on Palestine Generally the capitalist class and its state apparatus conduct themselves in a manner detrimental to workers and oppressed people. Yet sometimes there’s a deviation from this pattern. When that happens, it’s important to examine how the pressure from the working class pushed the…

The Global Sumud (Steadfast) Flotilla heads to Gaza

The Global Sumud Flotilla, which is bringing food and humanitarian aid to Gaza, with its participants hoping to establish a humanitarian corridor for the continuation of that aid — and to break Israel’s naval blockade — is still on its way to Gaza. This is despite Israel’s assaults with drone attacks, sound bombs, explosive flares…

Disobey Trump! Obey humanity!

Home » Editorials » Disobey Trump! Obey humanity! We recently discussed the name change of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, highlighting Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s apparent satisfaction with that change, which pointed toward imbuing the troops with a culture of wanton massacre. Today we have to admit we misjudged Hegseth’s…