Black Lives Matter: US agents to pull back in Portland but will stay on standby

Federal agents push back demonstrators during a Black Lives Matter protest in Portland, Oregon. Photo / AP

Federal agents who have been guarding the United States courthouse during violent protests in downtown Portland, Oregon, will begin withdrawing in the next 24 hours, Governor Kate Brown said.

Trump Administration officials said some would remain in the building and the entire contingent would stay in the city on standby.

While each side declared victory in the political fight that the deployment touched off, it was not clear if the complex agreement would reduce tensions on the streets of Portland, where protests have been staged nightly for more than two months.

Many demonstrators are peaceful, but smaller numbers have thrown fireworks, flares, rocks and ball bearing at federal agents, used green lasers to blind them and spread graffiti over the face of the federal courthouse.

The deal also seemed likely to further muddle the situation by adding yet another law enforcement agency to the mix — the Oregon State Police.

Troops to deploy in three more US cities as federal forces begin Portland withdrawal https://t.co/ZPWYewdTUl pic.twitter.com/7PytLyw24r

— FRANCE 24 (@FRANCE24) July 29, 2020

US President Donald Trump earlier this month sent agents to the city from the Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Marshals Service as protests against racial injustice increasingly targeted federal property, including the courthouse in downtown Portland.

The deployment appeared to have the opposite effect, reinvigorating demonstrations with a new focus: getting rid of the federal presence.

Brown said agents with CBP and ICE will begin leaving the city's downtown area tomorrow, but Acting Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf wouldn't specify where the agents would go.

He insisted that a federal presence would remain in Portland until the Trump Administration was assured the agreement was working and the Oregon State Police was sufficiently protecting federal property.

The plan calls for the Marshals Service and Federal Protective Service agents to remain inside a fence set up around the federal courthouse, with some state police, to keep protesters out. State police will also be outside the fence to keep protesters back.

Oregon State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton said his agency would deploy a special operations team and some uniformed troopers to the courthouse for a two-week rotation.

Ex-DHS chief Michael Chertoff: "Critics of the department are now rightly worried that its law enforcement agents might be increasingly deployed by President Trump to score political points, or even interfere with the November election."https://t.co/FqDDgg3x48

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 29, 2020

Trump declared victory shortly after the announcement, tweeting that federal agents prevented Portland from being "burned and beaten to the ground."

The conflicts between protesters and the federal agents have been limited to roughly two square blocks around the courthouse and have not affected the rest of the city, which has been much more subdued amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler also claimed a win in a lengthy Twitter post.

"The federal occupation of our community has brought a new kind of fear to our streets. Federal agents nearly killed a demonstrator, and their presence has led to increased violence and vandalism in our downtown core," he said.

One protester was critically injured July 11 and required facial reconstructive surgery after he was struck in the face by a non-lethal round fired by a federal agent.

- AP