Trump orders military to Portland, authorizes use of full force

U.S. President Donald Trump announced the deployment of military forces to the city of Portland, permitting the use of force “when necessary,” saying the decision was made to protect federal facilities amid ongoing protests against immigration policies.

Trump posted on his platform Truth Social: “At the request of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, I direct Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to deploy all armed forces necessary to protect Portland, which has been ruined by war, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities besieged by Antifa and other local (terrorists),” and added: “I also authorize the use of maximum force when necessary,” without clarifying what he meant by that phrase.
The announcement provoked angry reactions from Democratic lawmakers, who said there is no need to deploy federal forces to the city. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, a Democrat, said she is seeking more information from the White House following Trump’s announcement, and posted on X: “There is no threat to national security in Portland. Our communities are safe and calm.” She urged residents to “remain calm and enjoy a beautiful fall day.”

At a Saturday news conference, Kotek said any deployment “would be an abuse of power,” noting she is coordinating with Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield “to determine whether any response is necessary,” and added: “We will be prepared to respond if we must.” These developments follow protesters targeting the ICE center in Portland since early June, sometimes touching off violent clashes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed federal charges against 26 people, as of Sept. 8, including arson, assaulting an officer and resisting arrest — the largest such case in Democratic-run Oregon.
The Department of Homeland Security also said on Friday that protesters had “attacked and repeatedly besieged an ICE facility” in Portland. In a post on X, the department said several people had been arrested and charged with federal crimes, adding: “The organization Rose City Antifa, recently designated as a domestic terrorist organization, illegally exposed ICE officers’ identities.” It added: “The group also published their home addresses online and in public flyers. Individuals associated with Antifa also sent death threats to Department of Homeland Security employees.”

Saturday’s announcement represents a further expansion of deployments to U.S. cities as part of a broader Trump administration campaign against illegal immigration. Trump’s post did not specify whether he intended to activate the National Guard or the regular U.S. military, nor did it define what he meant by “full force.”
Pentagon spokesman Sean Barnell told the BBC: “We stand ready to mobilize U.S. military personnel to support Department of Homeland Security operations in Portland at the direction of the president,” and added: “The department will provide information and updates as they become available.”
The Republican president had threatened in early September to send the National Guard to the Pacific Northwest city amid months of anti-ICE demonstrations in Portland. Two weeks earlier he signed an executive order to deploy National Guard forces to Memphis, Tennessee, blaming a “crime wave” in the majority-Black city, which is run by a Democratic mayor in a state governed by a Republican.

After Los Angeles in June, the National Guard was sent to the federal capital Washington in mid-August. Trump has also threatened to send federal police and troops to Chicago, New York and Baltimore. In the same context, the U.S. president on Monday signed an executive order designating Antifa (a broad term used for far-left anti-fascist groups) as a “terrorist organization.”