Judge blocks Trump administration from deploying national guard to Portland

"A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from deploying the national guard to Portland, Oregon, according to court documents. Donald Trump had announced on 27 September that he would deploy troops to Portland, authorizing Full Force, if necessary, ignoring pleas from local officials and the state's congressional delegation, who suggested that the president was misinformed or lying about the nature and scale of a single, small protest outside one federal immigration enforcement office."

"A coalition of 17 mayors in the state had opposed the deployment. Oregon's attorney general, Dan Rayfield, filed a lawsuit on Monday fighting the activation of 200 federalized members of the Oregon national guard. In the restraining order released on Saturday, US district judge Karin Immergut nominated by Trump concurred with Oregon's assertion that Trump deploying federalized national guard troops to Portland would likely inflame rather than calm protests, just as it did in 2020."

"The plaintiffs say the deployment would violate the US constitution as well as a federal law that generally prohibits the military from being used to enforce domestic laws. The stark divide in how the two sides described the situation on the ground in Portland was evident at a Friday court hearing before Immergut. US Department of Justice attorney Eric Hamilton said vicious and cruel radicals had laid siege to the Portland headquarters of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice)."

A federal judge issued a restraining order blocking deployment of 200 federalized Oregon National Guard members to Portland. The president had authorized sending troops to Portland on 27 September, prompting opposition from local officials, a 17-mayor coalition, and the state attorney general. The judge agreed that the deployment would likely inflame protests rather than calm them, citing parallels to 2020. Plaintiffs argued the deployment would violate the US Constitution and a federal law restricting military enforcement of domestic laws. Department of Justice counsel described violent threats to an ICE facility, while Portland representatives said recent protests were sedate and nonviolent.

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