Trump Sends 200 National Guard Troops to Portland

President Trump ordered 200 Oregon National Guard troops into Portland under federal Title 10 authority to protect ICE facilities and warned he would use “full force” against what he labeled Antifa and other domestic threats. The deployment and the president’s rhetoric have triggered large protests in Portland and related demonstrations in Chicago, and eyewitness videos and reports show federal agents firing pepper balls and tear gas and making several arrests. Mayors from Portland and 16 surrounding Oregon municipalities formally denounced the militarized deployment as unnecessary, unconstitutional and lacking local support, and pledged legal and legislative remedies. Oregon’s attorney general and the city of Portland filed a federal lawsuit arguing the move is “wholly pretextual,” will inflame tensions, and exceeds presidential authority. Observers say the action follows a pattern of the administration surging federal forces into Democratic-led cities and has prompted parallel legal challenges and debate over whether such deployments restore public safety or escalate unrest.