Monday, July 20, 2020
Chicago’s mayor is strongly rejecting any suggestion to dispatch federal troops to the city and President Donald Trump is all but promising to do just that. The war of words between Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Trump come after another bloody weekend that left dozens injured by gunfire and 12 killed as well as a protest that turned into a violent clash between police and demonstrators.
Lightfoot harshly criticized the actions of the federal officers in Portland. Trump dismissed any suggestion made by the Portland’s mayor and Oregon’s governor that the troopers had escalated the violence as he praised them for restoring order. The actions in Portland are raising the prospect of a constitutional crisis. And it’s one that could escalate as weeks of demonstrations find renewed focus in clashes with federal agents.
Protests have wracked Portland for 52 straight days following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25. The Trump administration dispatched the officers from agencies under the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security against the wishes of state and local officials. The state has sued over the agents’ actions, and constitutional law experts say those actions are “unprecedented” and a “red flag.”