Acting Director of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf has told Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler to request federal assistance with chronic unlawful assemblies and rioting in the city — or else the federal government will act without his authorization.
“I urge you to prioritize public safety and to request federal assistance to restore law and order in Portland,” Wolf stated in an Aug. 31 letter to Wheeler first obtained by Fox News.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler speaks to the media at City Hall on Aug. 30, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. A man was fatally shot Saturday night as a Pro-Trump rally clashed with Black Lives Matter protesters in downtown Portland. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
On Friday, Wheeler rejected President Donald Trump’s offer of National Guard troops to restore law and order in the embattled city, telling the president, “No thanks.”
Trump responded by declaring Wheeler to be a “joke of a mayor.”
“We are standing by to support Portland,” Wolf wrote. “At the same time, President Trump has made it abundantly clear that there will come a point when state and local officials fail to protect its citizens from violence, the federal government will have no choice but to protect our American citizens.” (RELATED: Democrats And Their Media Organs Finally Admit The Riots Are Violent)
Wolf referred to a letter sent to Trump from Wheeler on Aug. 28 in which the mayor says there “is no place for looting, arson, or vandalism in our city.”
“Unfortunately, you have failed to back up that sentiment with any action,” Wolf wrote, referring to Wheeler’s letter. “In fact, your inaction has fostered an environment that has fueled senseless violence and destruction night after night. For more than three months, Portland has become the epicenter of crime and chaos, with rioters attacking government buildings with the intention of burning them to the ground.”
Wolf wrote that “there have been 255 arrests made by local law enforcement and 23 riots and unlawful assemblies declared. Despite this, you have stood by passively, arguing that the nightly violence will ‘ultimately burn itself out.’”
“The evidence demonstrates otherwise,” Wolf stated, citing the “large-scale looting, arson, and vandalism—even killing” that persists in the city. Wolf also referred to locals businesses that “remain shuttered” and how residents are “held hostage by the daily violence that has gripped the city with no end in sight.” (RELATED: Trump Says Portland Mayor, Oregon Governor ‘Will Be Held Responsible’ For Violent Protests, Threatens To Step In)
Portland police officers fires less lethal rounds through smoke while dispersing a crowd of about 150 people from Portland City Hall on August 25, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
Protests and often violent rioting have plagued Portland nightly since May 28, following the death of George Floyd after his death while in the custody of Minneapolis police. There have been numerous riots and unlawful assemblies declared by Portland police. Rioters have torched the Multnomah County Building, struck police with fireworks and other projectiles and assaulted a couple.
“This is precisely why President Trump has—and continues to—offer federal law enforcement assistance to Portland,” Wolf wrote to Wheeler. “And that is why I, in my capacity as the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, was not only authorized, but statutorily obligated, to protect federal property.”