STATE OF SIEGE
In Portland, US federal officers in unmarked vans respond to protests with tear gas

Videos of federal law enforcement officers using unmarked vans were posted online July 15. (Video posted on Twitter)

USA - 07/16/2020

Tactical officers from around the United States have been in Portland, Oregon since July 4 to control protests and protect public property. Since they arrived, videos circulated online have shown officers patrolling streets in unmarked vans and using force to disperse protesters in the city. Unrest in Portland has been ongoing since late May when outrage following the death of George Floyd inspired protests across the United States. The recent federal response has received criticism for escalating tensions.

The US Department of Homeland Security sent federal law enforcement officers, including those from tactical teams, to Portland following an executive order signed by President Trump aimed at protecting public monuments from vandalism during ongoing Black Lives Matter protests.

Videos have been spread on the Internet showing clashes between law enforcement and protesters, featuring federal officers deploying crowd-control tactics such as tear gas and flashbangs. The officers, who are dressed in tactical attire, are also seen getting in and out of unmarked minivans.

On Thursday, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported the story of a protester who was taken into custody by federal officers in an unmarked van, driven to a courthouse, put into a cell, and then released.

The video below shows two officers in helmets and tactical gear walking up to a protester and bringing them into an unmarked van. The officers do not identify themselves as law enforcement, give a reason for the arrest, or read the protester their rights. The witness filming the video repeatedly asks the officers what they are doing, but receives no response. In Oregon, federal law enforcement is authorised to make arrests, but the officer must inform the person of their federal authority, give the reason for the arrest, and take the person to an Oregon authority without unnecessary delay.

Another video shows similarly dressed officers getting into a van on Main St. in Downtown Portland and driving off.

“There was a lot of fear. When people get arrested by federal officers, they're held for days, maybe weeks.”

Garrison Davis has been following the protests in Portland since they began in late May. According to the Associated Press, federal law enforcement officers from at least six different departments were sent to Seattle, Portland, and Washington, D.C. to protect public property during protests in early July.

Davis said that violence during the protests escalated after the night of July 11, when a federal officer severely wounded a protester using a less-lethal crowd control device. The shot caused face and skull fractures in the protester, who required reconstructive surgery. The incident is currently under investigation by federal authorities.

The 11th is when federal officers responded by themselves, they did not initially have the Portland Police Bureau with them. At the start of the night, they gassed the park in front of the federal courthouse just to clear it out, the park was still open. At this point, a federal officer shot a young man in the head. He was bleeding all over the sidewalk, he had to go to the hospital. That was the beginning of the night. They teargassed the park three separate times afterwards. Finally, at 2am that’s when the Portland Police Bureau showed up and decided to close the park. So before that, it was just federal officers standing there with assault rifles and just throwing tons of gas at the crowd, arresting people.

Since then, federal agents have used tear gas in Portland nightly. Portland police are banned from using tear gas except in situations that police declare to be a riot, where public and police safety is threatened. Federal officers, however, are authorised to use the chemical agent and other tactics to control crowds.

On July 15, rumours of officers detaining protesters from unmarked vans began circulating among those demonstrating.

Two of the unmarked vans drive into a government building. #blacklivesmatter #pdx #portlandoregon #oregon #blm #acab #portland #justicecenter #riotribs #CLAT pic.twitter.com/E8pl5P9VCL Garrison Davis (Teargas Proof) (@hungrybowtie) July 15, 2020

This video shows two unmarked vans similar to those used by federal authorities in other videos. The vehicles are entering the Edith Green - Wendell Wyatt Federal Building.

None of these officers ever identified themselves – very few identifying patches. There were some people who never really got a good look at them, really. We thought, ‘Oh, what if these are actually officers that are militia kidnapping like what happened in the Midwest last month?’ But you could see that their equipment was too good to be just a random militia. They had all the bells and whistles. There was a lot of fear about them not actually being law enforcement.

There was a lot of fear. When people get arrested by federal officers, they're held for days, maybe weeks. Usually, when you're asked by the police at these protests, you're out by the next morning. The charges are much worse when you're arrested by a federal person, even if you're just doing the same thing, including just standing on the street. So the fear is related to not knowing who these people are, not knowing what’s going to happen to you if you’re arrested, when will you see your friend again?

I think a lot of people aren’t really prepared to see that actually happening in the States right now. People protesting the government then just getting grabbed off the street.
Oregon politicians have accused federal officers of escalating violence during the protests and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler called the tactics used by federal agents “life-threatening,” imploring officers to “stay inside their building, or leave Portland altogether".

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to our request for comments on the tactics their officers have used in Portland, or their use of unmarked vans. However, they released a statement on July 16 condemning the actions of “violent anarchists” in Portland.


Article by Pariesa Young FRANCE24/AFP

Oregon protesters are getting detained by federal agents in unmarked vehicles: report

Published July 16, 2020 By Matthew Chapman RAW STORY


On Thursday, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that federal law enforcement is using unmarked vehicles to catch and arrest protesters in Portland.

“Federal law enforcement officers have been using unmarked vehicles to drive around downtown Portland and detain protesters since at least July 14,” reported Jonathan Levinson and Conrad Wilson. “Personal accounts and multiple videos posted online show the officers driving up to people, detaining individuals with no explanation of why they are being arrested, and driving off. The tactic appears to be another escalation in federal force deployed on Portland city streets, as federal officials and President Donald Trump have said they plan to ‘quell’ nightly protests outside the federal courthouse and Multnomah County Justice Center that have lasted for more than six weeks.”

“Federal officers have charged at least 13 people with crimes related to the protests so far, while others have been arrested and released,” continued the report. “They also left one demonstrator hospitalized with skull fractures after shooting him in the face with so-called ‘less lethal’ munitions July 11.”

These federal officers (?) just rushed up and arrested someone for no reason pic.twitter.com/xcFVuoMZmN
— Matcha chai (@matcha_chai) July 15, 2020

President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to use the federal government to keep order in the Black Lives Matter protests that sprung up nationwide in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. He even threatened to send in the military.

Oregon governor accuses Trump of causing violence in the streets of Portland — as a 2020 reelection ploy

IT'S ALSO PRACTICE FOR POST ELECTION WHEN TRUMP LOSES AND DECLARES MARTIAL LAW AND BEGINS PREPARING FIRING SQUADS FOR DEMOCRATS SINCE HE, AND BARR HAVE BROUGHT BACK THE DEATH PENALTY 

Published on July 16, 2020 By Bob Brigham RAW STORY


As acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf arrived in Portland to oversee DHS agents accused of misconduct against protesters, the state’s governor blasted President Donald Trump.

“This political theater from President Trump has nothing to do with public safety. The President is failing to lead this nation. Now he is deploying federal officers to patrol the streets of Portland in a blatant abuse of power by the federal government,” Gov. Kate Brown (D-OR) posted on Twitter.

“I told Acting Secretary Wolf that the federal government should remove all federal officers from our streets. His response showed me he is on a mission to provoke confrontation for political purposes. He is putting both Oregonians and local law enforcement officers in harm’s way,” she warned.

“This, coming from the same President who used tear gas to clear out peaceful protesters in Washington, DC to engineer a photo opportunity. Trump is looking for a confrontation in Oregon in the hopes of winning political points in Ohio or Iowa,” she warned.

This political theater from President Trump has nothing to do with public safety. The President is failing to lead this nation. Now he is deploying federal officers to patrol the streets of Portland in a blatant abuse of power by the federal government. https://t.co/PdlZkmW0mQ
— Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) July 16, 2020

This, coming from the same President who used tear gas to clear out peaceful protesters in Washington, DC to engineer a photo opportunity.
Trump is looking for a confrontation in Oregon in the hopes of winning political points in Ohio or Iowa.
— Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) July 16, 2020

EVERY REVOLT NEEDS A SOUNDTRACK