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Portland Mayor Keith Wilson on Saturday dismissed President Donald Trump’s plan to send federal troops to Oregon’s largest city, claiming there is no lawlessness or violence there.
Trump announced Saturday morning he plans to send troops to Portland at the request of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The president said he directed War Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide “all necessary troops to protect war-ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists,” adding he was authorizing full force, if necessary.
Hours later, Wilson said during a news conference the number of necessary troops is “zero” in Portland, “and any other American city.”
TRUMP VOWS ‘FULL FORCE’ AS HE PLANS TO SEND TROOPS TO PORTLAND AMID ANTI-ICE PROTESTS
“This is an American city,” Wilson said. “We do not need any intervention. This is not a military target.”
The mayor alleged the president would “not find” lawlessness or violence in the city, claiming video footage showing violence in the city was from five years ago was “recycled and then recycled again.”
“If President Trump came to Portland today, what he would find is people riding their bikes, playing sports, enjoying the sunshine, buying groceries or produce from a farmers’ market,” Wilson said. “We’ve had hard conversations, and we’ve done important work in the years since that footage was taken, we reformed our public safety system. We’ve refocused our community and on our economy, and we’ve redoubled our efforts to help our most vulnerable.”
Since June, protests have erupted near an ICE facility in Portland, where city officials cited land use violations, including improper detainee holding times and boarded-up windows.
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The building has been vandalized with anti-ICE graffiti and clashes between protesters and federal agents have occasionally turned violent, leading to the use of rubber bullets, tear gas and flash bangs.
Video obtained by Fox News Digital confirmed another violent protest in August, with footage showing protesters rolling out a guillotine, lighting fires and fighting with authorities — forcing law enforcement to disperse the crowd with munitions.
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Instead of sending troops to protect the federal facility, Wilson suggested the president send “hundreds of engineers, or teachers, or outreach workers” to Portland instead of a “short, expensive and fruitless show of force.”
“I am so deeply disappointed with the federal government’s irresponsibility,” he said. “At the end of the day, this may be a show of force, but that’s all it is. It’s a big show, and after the big show, everyone goes home. That’s what I want to happen here today in Portland. We have a long and proud tradition of peaceful protest. We have a long and proud track record of being at the forefront of positive social change.”
“There are new risks today, risks that we do not yet fully understand,” he continued. “The administration has refused to elaborate on what they mean when they say they will deploy full force against our city and citizens.”
In his announcement on Saturday, Trump did not say he would deploy full force against the city of Portland and its citizens, as Wilson claimed.
The president said he would send “all necessary troops” to protect the city and its ICE facilities, authorizing full force against domestic terrorism “if necessary.”
Portland, a sanctuary city since 2017, has resisted federal immigration enforcement, making it a focal point during the administration’s immigration enforcement initiative.
In August, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Wilson, warning the city’s sanctuary policies undermine U.S. interests. She demanded Portland affirm compliance with federal law and end practices that obstruct immigration enforcement.
The City of Portland did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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