BORTAC has also conducted sensitive missions in at least 23 countries, including in Iraq and Afghanistan to support Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. BORTAC agents are also trained to respond to prison riots. In Austin, Texas, an armed protester was shot and killed. In Portland, federal agents have acted against the expressed opposition of the local authorities.

But after federal officers arrived in the city on July 4, demonstrations became centered around this U.S. District courthouse and this building housing federal agencies.
Our video shows how President Trump’s deployment ignited chaos. In Portland they’ve worn military-style, green camouflage uniforms and body armor. BORTAC dispatched to Los Angeles in 1992 to respond to riots that erupted in the wake of the acquittal of Rodney King’s assailants. [chanting] A so-called wall of moms led marches through Portland’s streets and to the federal courthouse where officers cleared them away. The department has justified the tactics of the federal agents in Portland by pointing to dozens of episodes, including the defacement of federal property with graffiti, the damaging of buildings with fireworks and the throwing of rocks and bottles at officers.

But officials in Washington said they had clear authority. The department labels the Portland rioters as “violent anarchists” who intend to “set fire to the federal courthouse and actively tried to breach the entrance of the courthouse.”. Others were shot and wounded in Aurora, Colo., after a car drove through a protest there. But the lack of any consent from local officials just means federal agents cannot rely on state and local laws to justify the arrests. The Trump administration has pledged to defeat the "violent anarchists" who claim they are trying to burn down the federal courthouse building. Later that night when field medics sought officers’ help for a wounded protester, they were aggressively cleared away. “Homeland security’s authorities are so extraordinarily broad that they can find federal laws that they are authorized to enforce across the spectrum, so long as it has some national security, public safety, human trafficking, criminal street gang conspiracy,” Mr. Vincent said. Mark Morgan, the acting secretary of Customs and Border Protection, said the agents did display signs that they were federal agents but withheld their names for their own safety. Peaceful protests were already happening for weeks when federal officers arrived on July 4. As of mid-July, there were only 114 federal agents. Confrontations between heavily-armed federal agents and activists have intensified in recent weeks. The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act restricts the use of federal troops in domestic law enforcement. “BORTAC is unique in that it provides a global response capability,” Customs and Border Protection said in a fact sheet posted to its website. All rights reserved. In Portland, local leaders have done the opposite. Over the weekend, rioters set fire to an Oakland, Calif., courthouse. That’s outrageous. [chanting] Their actions often appeared to escalate rather than de-escalate matters. All market data delayed 20 minutes. Former officials at the Department of Homeland Security said it would normally only dispatch agents to assist with local incidents if the state or municipal governments asked for help and deputized that responsibility. How are we supposed to know you’re not kidnapping us and you’re civilians kidnapping us?” One protester was detained at this location nearby. Other federal agencies, including the U.S. Founded in 1984, the unit’s stated mission is “to respond to terrorist threats of all types anywhere in the world in order to protect our nation’s homeland.”. Marshals Service will send 100 deputy U.S. Join the list to receive special offers, updates, and everything Black Rifle Coffee.

Some demonstrators damaged paneling on the courthouse and tried to set them alight. The Trump administration is sending more federal agents to Portland, Ore., in a bid to increase its presence against growing groups of protesters and nightly lawlessness. The actions of the militarized federal officers are flat-out unconstitutional and will not go unanswered.”, The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon on Friday also sued the Department of Homeland Security and the Marshal’s Service for “indiscriminately using tear gas, rubber bullets and acoustic weapons.”. Portland isn't the only city where civil unrest has broken out. They drove the protester away in an unmarked car. In a July 21 tweet, Morgan said BORTAC team members must wear identification patches.

The buildings have clearly been vandalized, and the Department of Homeland Security has a mandate to protect them. Agents do have the authority to make arrests if they believe that a federal crime has been committed, like damaging federal property or attacking officers. The Trump administration is sending more federal agents to Portland, Ore., in a bid to increase its presence against growing groups of protesters and nightly lawlessness. We absolutely support the right to peacefully protest. “The violent activity was happening well before we deployed additional resources there.”. Federal officers in military gear … … clouds of tear gas … … crowd control munitions … [shots fired] … and locals who want those officers gone. The U.S. D.H.S. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, however, is a federal law enforcement agency, not a military branch. Deploying agents without any identification violates the protocols of police departments across the United States. Protesters and local officials say this is all a case of federal overreach.
William La Jeunesse has an update after another night of unrest in Portland, Oregon. “These agents and officers are among the most highly trained agents and officers that we have within [Customs and Border Protection], and that includes training in riot control,” Morgan said during a press conference this week. Wheeler was tear-gassed by federal agents while in a crowd outside the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse in Portland on Wednesday. Some also accuse the unit’s personnel of using heavy-handed tactics and not appropriately disclosing their identities. Twitter. Night after night, videos show these officers emerging from the two federal buildings as protesters draw near. “It’s unbelievable that the local mayor [in Portland] actually said that the mere presence of federal law enforcement is what’s inciting the violence. Photo by Caitlin Ochs/Reuters, Illustration by The New York Times, also sued the Department of Homeland Security and the Marshal’s Service. But that hasn’t stopped them from trying.

Detaining demonstrators away from federal properties has also raised questions. The move to send in additional agents would mark a significant expansion of the federal forces currently deployed to Portland. Gas!” The president has doubled down, promising to send more federal officers to cities governed by his political rivals. Videos showing federal agents using tear gas on protesters and complaints that federal agents lacking insignia are pulling people from the streets have raised questions over the legal authority that homeland security officials have to crack down on citizens. The move provided the Department of Homeland Security with “specially-trained and equipped teams capable of rapid response to emergent and uncommon law enforcement situations requiring special tactics and techniques, search and rescue, and medical response capabilities,” Customs and Border Protection reported. And what methods are the officers using to protect federal sites? ©2020 FOX News Network, LLC. “He got shot in the back, obviously, and he’s wearing press —” This photographer, Mathieu Lewis Rolland, told The Times that a volley of 10 projectiles were fired into his back. Crowd: “Hey, hey, ho, ho, these racist cops have got to go.” In recent days, the controversy mobilized a larger and more diverse crowd of protesters. On Wednesday, July 22, Portland’s mayor joined the protests and was caught in a cloud of tear gas. to intentionally harm a federal officer, you have transitioned from a protestor to a criminal,” acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan tweeted on Friday. … “Gas! This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. “Ow, ow, ow!” In the middle of all this, protesters were detained in ways that alarmed civil rights advocates and former Homeland Security officials. The U.S. National Guard was activated and sent to cities across the country in late May and June after protests over the death of George Floyd sparked a national wave of violent unrest, including vandalism, looting, and attacks on police. The first batch of men and women began arriving Thursday night. The agency is also reportedly sending personnel to Seattle this weekend to augment a Federal Protective Service effort to defend federal buildings in that city in advance of planned protests. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Earlier this month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection dispatched an elite tactical unit to help quell civil unrest in Portland, Oregon. Were the Actions of Federal Agents in Portland Legal? “An interpretation of that authority so broadly seems to undermine all the other careful checks and balances on D.H.S.’s power because the officers’ power is effectively limitless and all encompassing,” said Garrett Graff, a historian who studies the Department of Homeland Security’s history and development. Copyright © 2020 Coffee or Die Magazine. In 2015, a BORTAC team responded to an escape at the Clinton Correctional Facility in New York.