Trump sending more federal agents to Portland in significant increase in force at courthouse

The Trump administration is sending more federal officers to Portland as the situation heightened over the weekend between demonstrators and agents.

Federal agents were first placed in and around the city’s federal courthouse in recent weeks to protect it from the nightly protests taking place.

In an effort to strengthen these forces, the US Marshals Service decided to deploy an additional 100 officers starting last Thursday to assist, The Washington Post reported.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is now also considering sending an additional 50 US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, but the department has not made a final decision, the newspaper reported.

Federal agents from the US Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service first arrived in Portland earlier in July in an effort to quell the protests.

Nightly protests, rioting, and looting have taken place in the city since the death of George Floyd in May at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

Instead of quelling protests, though, the appearance of federal agents has only reenergised demonstrators and encouraged more people to come out each night.

State and local officials have since condemned Donald Trump and his administration for bringing in outside troops to address the protests the city has experienced.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler called the move “a direct threat against democracy”. He was later tear gassed by federal agents when attending a protest last week.

Mr Trump has defended the use of agents in Portland, though, by previously tweeting the effort was made to the help city, not “hurt it”. He has also announced federal agents would be deployed to Chicago and Albuquerque.

The mandate of federal officers in Portland was to protect federal buildings, but they have been accused of driving unmarked cars and seizing people from the street without explanation in recent days. Footage released on social media and other platforms has also used agents using excessive force against demonstrators.

There were about 114 federal agents deployed to Portland in mid-July, but it was unclear how many are now in city as protests appear to only heighten each night.

The White House was reportedly expected to meet privately on Monday afternoon to further discuss the protests in Portland and other cities around the US.

Although Mr Trump and his administration has defended the role of federal officers in Portland against people they've labelled as "violent anarchists", internal reviews into officers' conduct at these protests have started at the US Marshals, CBP, and other agencies involved.

The recent decision to bring in more agents could likely add fuel to the fire by only further angering citizens and local officials. But that hasn't stopped the Trump administration from considering the move.