An authoritarian takeover of my hometown
Many Oregonians woke up this morning to the unwelcome news that Donald Trump has called for a deployment of troops to the City of Portland, with an authorization to use full military force "if necessary."
Let's be clear about what this is: Trump is launching a full authoritarian takeover of my hometown in the hopes of provoking conflict.
We've seen this play out before, when Trump similarly deployed troops to the city in the summer of 2020. What followed were weeks of excessive use of force by Trump's thugs against Oregonians.
Portland is a peaceful, vibrant city with no need for federal agents on our streets.
I am in close contact with state and local officials as the situation develops. In the meantime, I urge Oregonians not to fall into Trump's attempt to incite violence.
In the meantime, I will do everything in my power to protect the people in our state.
More soon,
Ron