US federal crackdown on Portland: House takes on DOJ, DHS secretaries
US House Democratic lawmakers are calling for an investigation into the federal government's severe crackdown on protesters in Portland.
They wrote a joint letter Sunday to Michael Horowitz, the DOJ inspector general, and Joseph Cuffari, inspector general for DHS, in part mentioning deployment of "secret police" to Oregon.
“The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security appear to have increasingly abused emergency authorities to justify the use of force against Americans exercising their right to peaceful assembly,” wrote House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler , Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson and Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney.
The Trump administration's Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security have deployed their forces to crush the dissent, triggered over the death of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minnesota.
“Reports from Oregon this week make clear that this misuse of resources and personnel remains a growing threat. Accordingly, we write to request an investigation by your offices into the use of federal law enforcement agencies by the Attorney General and the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security to suppress First Amendment protected activities in Washington, DC, Portland, and other communities across the United States,” the Democrats added, asserting that it is “not the first time the Trump administration has used force to suppress dissent.”
The state has sued the federal government and called on its forces to leave amid reports that secret forces were sweeping protesters off the streets in Portland, Oregon.
“This is a matter of utmost urgency,” Democrats wrote in the letter. “Citizens are concerned that the administration has deployed a secret police force, not to investigate crimes but to intimidate individuals it views as political adversaries, and that the use of these tactics will proliferate throughout the country. Therefore, we ask that you commence your review of these issues immediately.”
Police declared a state of riot early Sunday after people broke into a Portland Police Association office and set it on fire amid protests to battle police brutality and racial injustice.
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