Trump to invade Portland

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday that he would sue the Trump administration after it federalized 300 California National Guard troops and deployed them to Oregon, just one day after a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to deploy Oregon National Guard troops in Portland.

“In response to a federal court order that blocked his attempt to federalize the Oregon National Guard, President Trump is deploying 300 California National Guard personnel into Oregon. They are on their way there now," Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement. "This is a breathtaking abuse of the law and power. The Trump Administration is unapologetically attacking the rule of law itself and putting into action their dangerous words — ignoring court orders and treating judges, even those appointed by the President himself, as political opponents."

In a statement, the White House confirmed the movement of California National Guard troops to Oregon.

President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement. For once, Gavin Newscum should stand on the side of law-abiding citizens instead of violent criminals destroying Portland and cities across the country," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, referring to the California governor with a nickname often used by the president.

In a statement, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, confirmed that California National Guard troops had already arrived in Oregon, saying, "101 federalized California National Guard members arrived in Oregon last night via plane, and it is our understanding that there are more on the way today."

She went on to condemn the move, saying, "This action appears to intentional to circumvent yesterday’s ruling by a federal judge. The facts haven’t changed. There is no need for military intervention in Oregon. There is no insurrection in Portland. No threat to national security. Oregon is our home, not a military target. Oregonians exercising their freedom of speech against unlawful actions by the Trump Administration should do so peacefully."

On Saturday, one day after the Trump administration activated 200 Oregon National Guard troops in Portland, a federal judge temporarily blocked the president's move.

U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut, a Trump appointee, issued the temporary block, which lasts until at least Oct. 18.

"This country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs,” she wrote in her ruling.

In a statement issued after the ruling, Kotek said: “There is no insurrection in Portland. No threat to national security. No fires, no bombs, no fatalities due to civil unrest. The only threat we face is to our democracy — and it is being led by President Donald Trump.”

The Trump administration on Sunday filed a motion with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for an emergency pause of Immergut’s decision to block the Oregon National Guard from being deployed by the administration onto the streets of Portland.

The Trump administration said Immergut “impermissibly second-guessed” Trump’s military judgements.

“Nearly 200 years ago, the Supreme Court made clear that these judgment calls are for the President to make — not a Governor, and certainly not a federal court,” the motion read.

On Sunday, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield responded to the news of California National Guard troops arriving in his state by saying that his office is "quickly assessing our options and preparing to take legal action."

In an op-ed published Sunday in The Oregonian, Portland Police Chief Bob Day, didn't denounce Trump's deployment of the National Guard outright, but he said that "national portrayals" of Portland were overstating the problem there.

"There is no ignoring that we are facing an extraordinary time in our city’s history, with the deployment of both federal law enforcement and the Oregon National Guard," Day wrote. "One of the reasons given for this action has been that Portland Police are not responding to public disorder."

"Just because officers are not seen wearing tactical gear lining up before crowds does not mean we are not responding. In fact, research shows that such tactics often escalate crowd behavior. Instead, we use a layered approach when it comes to managing public order," he added.

The president has clashed repeatedly with Democratic governors and mayors over the weekend over his moves to deploy National Guard troops across the country.

In addition to the lawsuit from Democratic leaders in Portland and Oregon, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, blasted Trump's decision on Saturday to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago, an idea the president has floated for weeks.

“It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will,” Pritzker said in a statement Saturday.

Democrats also blasted the president's comments to senior military leaders last week, when he told them that the military should "use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military National Guard."

A small group of federal agents in camouflage and face masks watched from atop the immigration processing center Thursday night as a unicorn, peacock, dinosaur and raccoon danced to Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time.”

Across the street, the self-proclaimed frog brigade — three adults in inflatable amphibian costumes — posed for photos and bounced around in unison. A small group of counterprotesters nearby shouted, “We love you, ICE!”

Similar scenes outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building south of downtown Portland have been playing out for weeks as people protest President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts and the deployment of more than 200 National Guard troops to Oregon’s largest city to protect federal property.

The absurdity of adults dancing in inflatable costumes during anti-ICE demonstrations is meant to display community joy, protesters say, and helps to dispel the Trump administration’s narrative that Portland is a crime-ridden “war zone,” a characterization local and state leaders say is false.

Plus, the costumes provide protection from gas and other toxins deployed by federal agents, protesters say.

“If you’re going to make it silly and say that we’re evil, we’re going to make it silly by showing how evil you are,” said Brooks Brown, of Vancouver, Washington, who passed out 30 inflatable costumes Thursday night to anyone who wanted to get it on “Operation Inflation.”

Not without its civic challenges, the greater Portland area has some 7,000 homeless residents, and simple assaults have increased 8% from the time last year, but homicides have dropped 50% and aggravated assaults 4% in the same period, according to police and city data, and overall crime has held steady.

Protester Jack Dickinson, known locally as the Chicken Man, first donned his chicken costume in June during Trump’s military parade in Washington. He said he wanted to counter the show of force with farce.

As immigration raids accelerated across the country and the administration appeared to fixate on Portland’s protests, the chicken costume took on new meaning, he said.

“This is an unacceptable betrayal of the American democracy,” Dickinson said, referring to federalized forces deployed in Democratic-led cities like Chicago and Los Angeles. “ICE is kind of the perfect example of the cruelty with which they are implementing their agenda, and it’s just not something we can sit by and let happen.”

The costume strategy appears to be working. Demonstrators have attracted attention from international media outlets in France, Australia and England.

California Gov. Gavin Newson, a Democrat and a frequent target of Trump’s verbal and online jabs, seized on the movement to mock the administration on social media.

“Portland is war ravaged! SEND IN THE CALIFORNIA (???) NATIONAL GUARD!” he posted this week on X with a video of a unicorn, raccoon and dinosaur dancing outside the immigration building.

Despite the costumed antics, the Trump administration stuck to its depiction of the protesters on Thursday during a federal appeals court hearing challenging a judge’s order barring the Guard from being sent to Portland. The panel has not made a decision yet.

Department of Justice attorney Eric McArthur called protesters “violent people” who hurled rocks at federal agents, lit fires on the street and blocked cars.

“The president is entitled to say enough is enough and bring in the National Guard to reinforce the regular forces,” he added.

Federal officials pointed to the three-week closing of the ICE building from mid-June to early July because of damage to windows, security cameras and other parts of the building, allegedly caused by protesters.

Protesters have blamed the ongoing federal presence for civil unrest, saying the toxins being used against them are causing health concerns in the residential neighborhood.

Speaking before a panel of federal judges Thursday, Senior Assistant Oregon Attorney General Stacy Chaffin said the administration’s portrayal of Portland was “untethered from reality.”

As lingering toxins from tear gas lobbed by federal officers caused people to clear their throats and wipe their stinging eyes Thursday night outside the ICE building, protesters said they were skeptical the Trump administration would follow a court order that was not in its favor.

Brown and other demonstrators pulled a cart filled with 30 inflatable costumes and began passing them out to protesters, turning the gathering into a kind of night circus as a raccoon, polar bear and axolotl bounded toward the ICE building.

Brown said he created an Operation Inflation website in one night this week after seeing federal police confront protester Seth Todd, otherwise known as “Toad” because of the costume he wears. Brown said he immediately began selling inflatable costumes from the site, adding that the operation is not funded or backed by any outside organization.

Brown said he grew up learning about the deadly Kent State shooting in 1970, when four unarmed students were killed and another nine wounded by members of the Ohio National Guard. Operation Inflation is his attempt to de-escalate tensions between protesters and federal officers.

“People should be able to protest. They should have their voices heard,” he said between coughs from the tainted air.

Dressed as Tigger from “Winnie the Pooh,” Portland resident Joy Wilson marveled at the masked agents staring down at her. She said she usually reads a book during demonstrations to highlight the peace and calm of Portland’s resistance movement, and Thursday night marked her first time attending a protest in costume.

But after witnessing federal agents pepper spray Todd in the respiratory hole of his inflatable suit on Oct. 4 in an act that was caught on video and posted to social media, Wilson said she decided to show solidarity because the frog has become a symbol of nonviolent protest.

“People sometimes wonder, ‘What can I do’” to protest, Wilson said. “This makes it so accessible.”

A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Monday will allow the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops in Portland, saying it is likely to succeed on its appeal of an order that blocked the deployment.

The appellate court ruling — an important legal victory in a showdown over presidential power that’s happening on multiple fronts — grants the administration’s motion to stay the lower court’s order blocking the deployment while the appeal plays out.

The three-judge panel weighed in after US District Judge Karin Immergut last week ruled to extend her temporary restraining order barring the deployment of federal troops to Portland.

Even if Trump exaggerates the severity of Portland’s protests on social media, “this does not change that other facts provide a colorable basis to support the statutory requirements,” the majority said in the ruling.


Two Trump-appointed judges, Ryan D. Nelson and Bridget S. Bade, sided with the administration’s appeal while a third, former President Bill Clinton appointee Judge Susan P. Graber, dissented, saying, “Today’s decision is not merely absurd. It erodes core constitutional principles, including sovereign States’ control over their States’ militias and the people’s First Amendment rights to assemble and to object to the government’s policies and actions.”

The majority’s ruling, from the White House’s point of view, proves the lower court’s decision was incorrect, according to Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson.

“As we have always maintained, President Trump is exercising his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel following violent riots that local leaders have refused to address,” Jackson said.

The president has cited protests outside Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility to justify the call-ups of troops in the deep blue city.


Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield will be filing a petition for an en banc rehearing with a larger panel of appellate judges, a spokeswoman for the office said.

“Oregon joins Judge Graber in urging the full Ninth Circuit to ‘act swiftly’ en banc ‘to vacate the majority’s order before the illegal deployment of troops under false pretenses can occur,” Rayfield said in a statement Monday. “And, like her, we ‘ask those who are watching this case unfold to retain faith in our judicial system for just a little while longer.’”

Federal agents clash with anti-ICE protesters at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on October 12 in Portland, Oregon.
Federal agents clash with anti-ICE protesters at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on October 12 in Portland, Oregon. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images
Separately, a Ninth Circuit judge Monday afternoon asked the court to vote on whether the case should be reheard en banc. The judge’s request was made sua sponte, meaning they requested the review of their own accord.

In the Ninth Circuit, 11 judges are reconsider the case if an en banc request is accepted.

Attorneys for the state and the Trump administration have until midnight on Wednesday, October 22, to make their case for or against an en banc review.


National Guard soldiers currently in Portland “are not conducting any operational activities at this time,” a United States Northern Command spokesperson told CNN Monday.

Leaders in Oregon have emphatically disputed the president’s characterizations of the city as “war-ravaged” and uncontrollably violent, arguing in court the situation on the ground in Portland is nowhere as extreme as federal officials portray it to be.

Protests in Oregon’s biggest city over White House immigration policies started in June, with a declared riot and arson arrests in mid-summer. The scene was largely calm until Trump declared in late September he was sending 200 Oregon National Guard troops to the city.

In a letter sent Friday to the Defense Department Office of Inspector General, a group of senators, including those from Oregon, asked for an inquiry into recent deployments of National Guard troops across the country.


The senators argued that deployments were “fundamentally un-Constitutional, dangerous for American civil rights” and risk “straining military readiness and resources,” according to the letter.

“We urgently request that you initiate an inquiry into the cumulative effects of these domestic deployments of U.S. active-duty troops and the National Guard—over the objections of state and local officials—on military readiness, resources, personnel, and our military as an institution,” the senators requested.