Despite pleading from Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will continue to use Oregon State Police, and other local law enforcement officers, designated as federal deputies to combat continued lawlessness and rioting in Portland. A key element of this designation helps protect the officers from violence, since assaulting a federal deputy would constitute a federal crime not subject to the political whims of local partisan prosecutors.
According to the Daily Wire (DW), the mayor’s office issued a statement noting that they’d “asked the U.S. Attorney’s office to withdraw the designation.” However, United States Attorney for Oregon, Billy Williams, said Wednesday that the Oregon State Police will remain federal deputies.
“The federal deputation supports front line law enforcement officers and their families in a way that they have not seen from City Hall,” Williams said in a press conference, per OPB.com. “Portlanders and Oregonians, in general, are sick of the boarded-up and dangerous conditions prevalent in downtown Portland due to a lack of leadership.”
The Daily Wire reported that the Oregon State Police say “they’re happy to keep the designation, given that it helps them ‘supply accountability to violent extremists’ and gives the U.S. Attorney ‘increased prosecutorial discretion if rioters should assault an officer.’”
DHS deputized Oregon State Police officers in the first place due to serious doubts that the local District attorney would not prosecute criminal protesters arrested during Portland’s riots. As of August, according to the Department of Justice, at least 74 individuals were facing federal charges from the violent riots that targeted the federal courthouse in downtown Portland.
Going a step further, the U.S. Attorney’s office even expanded the program last week, in anticipation of planned rallies by both far-right and far-left groups. Currently, according to DW, the federal deputy designation applies to about 50 Oregon State Police officers, 22 Multnomah County Sheriff’s Deputies, and 56 members of the Portland Police Department’s “Rapid Response” task force.
Much to the Portland mayor’s dismay, all these officers will remain federal deputies until at least the end of 2020.
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Good, do it everywhere it is needed to keep America safe from terrorism
Maybe residence of Oregon realize its time to make a change in leadership.
I think he should be arrested for supporting terrorisms but then I hate corruption.
Hope not…
Portland has a legitimate chance of making the Guinness World Book of Records for most consecutive nights if lawlessness!!!
Federalized? what a great idea. Oh rioters, here, rioters, come here boys, come on, here rioters, . . . . .. Translation: Oh, please, please riot and loot, and then punch out a federal marshal or two. I think we might be able to call-the next day, “the Day of Cleansing”.
Rioting, by definition is a form of Sedition, a Federal Crime.
The director of DHS needs to take matters one step further by opening up some of those FEMA camps to detain those rioters until they are brought before court. That way, no radical leftist district attorney can have the rioters released without their being charged with the multiple felony crimes they openly commit.
I can’t imagine anyone not deemed a criminal who would want to absent police from doing their duty! Apparently, that designation (criminal) has wormed its way into our political leadership.
Sad that the federal authorities have to step in do the job that local administrators and DAs refuse to do. It will come back to haunt these incompetents such as Wheeler at some point.
Hope the riots are continuing in Portland!!
I know the people who live in Portland are enjoying the excitement and positive publicity. I’ve heard some tour companies are thinking about offering night-time tours of the downtown area most damaged by the “peaceful” rioters.
We might go next summer to experience a modern, democrat run city first hand.
So, to all of you baby boomer spawned rioters, keep it up!!!!!! Don’t stop!!