PORTLAND, Ore. — CBS News and The New York Times are reporting that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers are deploying to Seattle. They will assist the federal agency that protects U.S. government property.
Federal officers continued their forceful reaction to Portland protesters last night. Even the mayor of Portland was tear-gassed.
“This is not a de-escalation strategy. This is flat out urban warfare,” said Mayor Ted Wheeler.
A Seattle special education teacher is now suing President Donald Trump over the blows he took from federal officers on Saturday night.
“Ugh, when it first happened, I thought I wasn’t going to have a left eye anymore,” said teacher Jeff Paul.
Paul was at the same protest where officers beat a Navy veteran on Saturday night. He said he was not throwing projectiles or doing anything else threatening. “No, that’s not my game.”
Paul said he was coming to the aid of a woman who was being shoved by an officer while trying to pick up her purse.
“I said, ‘Oh my gosh. That’s horrible.’ I was like, ‘Don’t hit her.’ And just by stepping forward, my hands were up. He came at me. He started hitting me in the arm repeatedly with the baton, and then he hit me in the head.”
So he agreed to sue Trump and the acting secretary of Homeland Security.
“The idea that they are kidnapping, grabbing them, pulling them into cars ... that is just heinous to me. That seems like that is something that would happen in other countries that are more authoritarian and repressive,” he said.
Trump maintains his open-ended threat to send federal officers to quash protests.
Gov. Jay Inslee said he was assured today that no federal forces are headed to deal with Washington’s protests.
But the federal officials won’t commit to asking his permission or even notifying him.
“We have asked for that ourselves from the Homeland Security. We’ve not received that particular assurance, except in a vague fashion. The federal government needs not to inflame the situation,” Inslee said.
Cox Media Group
