An Oregon federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s plans to deploy the National Guard to Portland. This comes as the city addresses the presence of hundreds of demonstrators at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.
This decision represents a significant setback for Trump, who had labeled Portland as a ‘war-ravaged’ area overrun by Antifa terrorists. He had announced the deployment of federal agents to the city just last week.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, made the ruling after the city and the state sued the federal government.
The temporary restraining order expires in 14 days on October 18, Immergut wrote in her order.
The Department of Defense had prepared to activate 200 members of Oregon’s National Guard for a two-month period to secure the ICE site, which has been a focal point for protests from summer into fall.
On Saturday, about 400 people participating in a ‘No National Guard in Portland’ rally marched from Elizabeth Caruthers Park to the ICE facility.
During the demonstrations, a helicopter followed the protesters continuously. Upon reaching the facility, federal agents deployed tear gas on the crowd and made six arrests, as reported by The Oregonian.
It’s not yet clear who was arrested or why they were taken into custody.
A judge’s ruling prevents Trump from federalizing 200 members of Oregon’s National Guard to manage protests at the ICE facility in Portland (Pictured: Law enforcement officers stand in front of the facility on Saturday, facing a mass of protestors).
Pictured: Protestors are seen holding their shirts over their noses after federal officers deployed tear gas
Pictured: A man is arrested by law enforcement during the protests. A total of six people were arrested during Saturday’s demonstration
On Friday night, two individuals were also arrested during protests at the facility. Thomas Wayne Allen and Cortez Carl Williams, both residents of Portland, were detained after behaving aggressively towards one another.
Both were booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree.
Allen was in possession of a can of chemical spray, which appears to bear spray according to images, and a collapsible metal coil baton, authorities said.
The police added: ‘There were individuals who gathered to confront one another and passionately debate their opposing points of view.
‘The police presence, targeted arrests, and announcements from the Portland Police Bureau Sound Truck were effective in suppressing any physical fights breaking out.’
This week’s chaos began on Tuesday, when more than 100 rioters stormed the ICE center, injuring several agents in the process, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Six people were arrested on Tuesday which then prompted further protests on Wednesday night.
Wednesday night’s protest was the second day of unrest at the facility after officers were forced to fire pepper balls from the roof in an attempt to dispel crowds which gathered on Tuesday.
A lone protestor with a gas mask stands amid the red smoke that was thrown by authorities
It also broke Saturday that Trump is planning to take control of 300 of Illinois National Guard troops after an attack on federal agents in Chicago
Anti-ICE sentiment has seemingly spread to other cities as well, most notably in Chicago, where law enforcement officers were rammed by 10 vehicles and boxed in on Saturday morning.
According to DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, the agents were unable to move their vehicles.
This led them to get out of their vehicles and fire ‘defensive shots at an armed US citizen who drove herself to the hospital to get care for wounds’.
The woman, who had a semi-automatic weapon, was part of an internal threat bulletin circulated after allegedly doxxing law enforcement officials online.
The posts, made under the name La Maggie, were shared to Facebook and involved an agent in Chicago. Daily Mail has approached the DHS for further comment on the person pictured on that account.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said Saturday that Trump is about to take control of 300 of his National Guard troops.
‘This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will,’ Pritzker said in a statement. ‘It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.’
Trump first threatened to send soldiers to Chicago last month in a Truth Social post accompanied by an AI image of himself in cowboy hat flanked with military helicopters.
‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,’ Trump wrote.
