Tell Congress: Condemn the Use of Federal Troops in Portland
The administration's violent crackdown on protesters and the city of Portland is wrong. The threat of federal troops in communities that don't comply with the administration’s dictums and blatant racism amount to the declaration of an authoritarian state.
The reports and scenes of unidentified Federal agents in Portland are shocking and they are frightening warning signs of authoritarianism and executive overreach. Demonstrators are being hunted and harmed and the community is being terrorized. The deployment of Homeland Security federal forces in response to those exercising their First Amendment rights amid protests for justice for George Floyd and all Black people who have been killed by police brutality is only serving to escalate and exacerbate violence and harm.
The Department of Homeland Security remains unrepentant and unrelenting in the deployment of militarized federal troops to Portland, and now other cities. And this is all being done using Federal taxpayer funding.
These actions fly in the face of the Constitution which enumerates both the right to protest as well as the rights of states to govern without federal troops invading. With the administration threatening to send troops into towns and cities where protests continue, it is critical that we speak out and tell Congress they must rein in the administration. People are being brutalized in the streets and in their communities.
To be clear, this has everything to do with white supremacy, the protests around the country are largely a response to the killings of Black people by the police and a racist regime will do anything to stay in power. Even terrorizing its own citizens. The administration is working to export fear into communities that are speaking out, and that cannot happen.
The “Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America’s Streets Act” was introduced to do just that. The Act requires agencies and individuals to be identified by agency, and I.D. number. They limit the activities of federal agents to federal property unless requested by local and state officials and require disclosure of agency activities and personnel on their website. Support of this measure is just the first step. Congress needs to be loud and clear in their condemnation of the administration to use federal agency officers to inflict harm, terrorize communities, and implement what amounts to martial law in cities and towns. Stringent oversight of the misconduct and overreach must happen.
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