Name: Trump’s threat to send federal forces to Oakland draws California pushback
Brand: sfchronicle.com
SKU: sfchronicle-com-65
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Trump’s threat to send federal forces to Oakland draws California pushback

preview

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigatePresident Trump threatened Monday to send federal law enforcement forces to Oakland, similar to his deployment of Homeland Security agents in camouflage uniforms in Portland — a move that’s been loudly criticized by officials in Oregon and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.“We’re going to have more federal law enforcement — that I can tell you,” Trump said Monday. “Because we’re not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these (cities) — Oakland is a mess. We’re not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats.”Trump sent federal law enforcement officers to Portland in early July, with the initial mission of protecting federal office buildings and statues after protesters removed edifices of andWithin days, officers started dispersing protesters several blocks from federal property and using more aggressive tactics, like firing chemical agents similar to tear gas. Some drove around the city in unmarked vehicles and detained protesters without explaining why, according toTrump said he sent in the federal officers because “the locals couldn’t handle it. ... It was out of control.”Chad Wolf, acting Homeland Security secretary, described Portland as a “city under siege.”But Oregon officials don’t see it that way and want the feds gone. California officials don’t want them to come here, either. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said Trump should stop his “racist” antagonism, and Gov. Gavin Newsom gave a terse answer when asked whether the president had alerted him to potential deployments in California: “The answer is no, and we would reject it.”House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, tweeted that “Trump &amp; his storm troopers must be stopped.”Crowd sizes at nightly protests in Portland have reportedly increased since federal forces arrived, and civil rights activists said any such deployment in Oakland or elsewhere in California could have the same effect.More by Joe Garofoli“If the federal law enforcement came to Oakland, it would be absolutely disastrous for everyday people,” said Zach Norris, executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in San Francisco. “It’s like adding gasoline for a fire to protests against police violence. It makes no sense whatsoever.”The San Francisco chapter of the National Lawyers Guild said in a statement that Trump’s “unconstitutional calls to unleash federal agents” in the Bay Area are “not only unconstitutional but a dangerous escalation towards fascism.”The president has the power to use the military to quell civil unrest, something Trump threatened to do in early June as protests spread over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. However, constitutional law Professor Joel Richard Paul of UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco said what’s going on in Portland and other U.S. cities is not so serious that it would warrant such drastic measures."I don't need invitations by the state, state mayors, or state governors to do our job. We're going to do that, whether they like us there or not.” — acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar)“The use of unmarked cars and camouflage outfits (in Portland) was really just meant to intimidate and harass the demonstrators,” Paul said. “It seems like the president is trying here to create a problem to justify his re-election: the problem of domestic unrest.“But that is not what is happening,” Paul said. “People are legitimately protesting. There have been random acts of vandalism. But there has not been a general insurrection. It is not a revolution. It is a protest.”Schaaf noted that protests in Oakland over Floyd’s death and systemic racism, which were largely peaceful to begin with, have eased off in recent weeks.“We are not experiencing any civil unrest right now,” Schaaf said. “But the presence of Trump-ordered military troops to Oakland would likely incite it.”Oakland police said in a statement that the city “has experienced peaceful demonstrations, marches and protests for well over a month. We continue to facilitate safe spaces and places for gatherings and marches and we stand with our community in condemning the murder of George Floyd and other instances of police brutality. The Oakland Police Department and the city of Oakland has not, nor would we, request federal assistance to address crowd management.”Pelosi tweeted that in Portland, “unidentified stormtroopers” have been “kidnapping protesters and causing severe injuries in response to graffiti. These are not the actions of a democratic republic.”Unidentified stormtroopers. Unmarked cars. Kidnapping protesters and causing severe injuries in response to graffiti.These are not the actions of a democratic republic.’s actions in Portland undermine its mission.Trump &amp; his stormtroopers must be stopped.— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi)Videos of federal officers attacking protesters are circulating online. In one, Christopher David, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and former member of the Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps, yelled to federal officers, “Why are you not honoring your oath to the Constitution?”They proceeded to beat him with batons and spray a chemical irritant in his face. His hand was broken in two places.Federal police strike protester with baton, use pepper spray and tear gas outside courthouse in Portland — Zane Sparling (@PDXzane)Trump has brushed aside calls from officials in Oregon for the federal forces to withdraw. On Monday, Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden said he would introduce legislation aimed at stopping “the Trump administration from dispatching his personal federal army into America’s streets.”Wolf, the Homeland Security chief, said that “I don’t need invitations by the state, state mayors, or state governors to do our job. We’re going to do that, whether they like us there or not.”About Our Newsroom"I don't need invitations by the state, state mayors, or state governors to do our job. We're going to do that, whether they like us there or not.” — acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar)In June, Trump told the nation’s governors that they would look like “fools” if they failed to restore order as protests spread over Floyd’s killing. “You have to dominate,” he told them.At the time, he threatened to send military troops into cities if local officials didn’t do what he thought was needed, but he reportedly backed off after Pentagon officials objected.President Trump is right to demand that law and order be restored in American cities. These protests and riots are getting out of hand, jeopardizing public safety and economic recovery.— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC)Presidents rarely send military forces into a state over the governor’s objections. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy sent the military to Mississippi after Gov. Ross Barnett refused to send troops to protect James Meredith, the first African American to enroll at the University of Mississippi.President George H.W. Bush sent troops to Los Angeles in 1992 to help put down riots over the acquittal of four police officers in the beating of Rodney King, but Gov. Pete Wilson had asked for the deployment.Trump got a mixed reaction from the few Republicans who reacted to his comments Monday. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a former military attorney facing a re-election battle in South Carolina, praised the president, saying, “If federal law enforcement officials are necessary to do the job and President Trump chooses to go down this path, I completely support him.”If federal law enforcement officials are necessary to do the job and President Trump chooses to go down this path, I completely support him.— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC)But libertarian-leaning Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul tweeted that “we cannot give up liberty for security.”We cannot give up liberty for security. Local law enforcement can and should be handling these situations in our cities but there is no place for federal troops or unidentified federal agents rounding people up at will.“Local law enforcement can and should be handling these situations in our cities,” Paul said. “But there is no place for federal troops or unidentified federal agents rounding people up at will.”San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Alexei Koseff and Bob Egelko contributed to this report.Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicle’s senior political writer. Email: Twitter:About Our Newsroom

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigatePresident Trump threatened Monday to send federal law enforcement forces to Oakland, similar to his deployment of Homeland Security agents in camouflage uniforms in Portland — a move that’s been loudly criticized by officials in Oregon and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.“We’re going to have more federal law enforcement — that I can tell you,” Trump said Monday. “Because we’re not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these (cities) — Oakland is a mess. We’re not going to let this...

public

Senior political writer, The San Francisco Chronicle @sfchronicle Host, "It's All Political"podcast https://apple.co/2EGbK4r Insta: joegarofoli Go Steelers/Pens

Joe Garofoli

Delivering the Bay Area’s best journalism every day. Subscribe and support the newsroom: http://SFChronicle.com/subscribe

Trump’s threat to send federal forces to Oakland draws California pushback

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS