Oregon Governor Kate Brown said that she had refused Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler's request to activate the National Guard in response to the anti-racism protests in the US city and allowed them to only provide support despite President Donald Trump's threats to deploy the military to US cities if governors fail to suppress the ongoing riots
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd June, 2020) Oregon Governor Kate Brown said that she had refused Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler's request to activate the National Guard in response to the anti-racism protests in the US city and allowed them to only provide support despite President Donald Trump's threats to deploy the military to US cities if governors fail to suppress the ongoing riots.
"Mayor Wheeler asked me over the weekend to mobilize the National Guard and put them in direct confrontation with protesters. This wasn't the first time that the mayor asked to mobilize the National Guard, and not the first time I have declined," Brown said at a press conference on Monday evening.
Brown added that she had asked the Oregon State Police to deploy additional officers to support Portland's police the previous night. Moreover, 50 National Guard servicemen were ready and could arrive in Portland within a few minutes, but they were not asked for help, the governor said.
Brown said she was sending 100 state police officers to Portland and asking the 50 National Guard troops "to provide a support function only." They will be unarmed, she specified.
She is also calling in 50 Oregon National Guard members to do the same.
Trump warned on Saturday that if the unrest continues in US cities, then the Federal government would step in and the military would be used. Speaking at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Trump said the death of African-American George Floyd was a grave tragedy but warned against surrendering to hostility. Trump stressed that every US citizen has the right to be safe in their workplace, home and city streets.
The states of California, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Washington, and the District of Columbia have already mobilized National Guard troops to disperse protesters and help local law enforcement officers ensure security. Several Democratic governors, however, have pushed back against Trump's threat to deploy the military.
Mass demonstrations across the United States erupted against police brutality and racism on May 25, after Floyd, an unarmed 46-year-old African American man, died in police custody in the US city of Minneapolis. Some protests have turned into violent riots that include arson and widespread looting. The protests broke out after a video surfaced showing white police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes before the detainee became unresponsive.
