The mayor of Portland, Oregon, was tear-gassed by U.S. government agents late Wednesday as he stood at a fence erected to protect a federal courthouse during another night of protests against the presence of the agents sent by President Donald Trump to quell the city’s ongoing unrest. Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, appeared slightly dazed and coughed and said it was the first time he’d been tear gassed. He put on a pair of goggles someone handed him and drank water but did not leave his spot at the front and continued to take gas as the protest raged — with demonstrators lighting a large fire between the fence and the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse amid the pop-pop-pop sounds of the federal agents deploying tear gas and stun grenades into the crowd. It wasn’t immediately clear if the agents knew Wheeler was among those in crowd when they used the tear gas. Earlier in the night, Wheeler was mostly jeered as he tried to rally demonstrators who have clashed nightly with federal agents but was briefly applauded when he shouted “Black Lives Matter” and pumped his fist in the air. Wheeler has opposed federal agents’ presence in Oregon’s largest city, but has faced harsh criticism from many sides and his presence wasn’t welcomed by many demonstrators who yelled and swore at him. “I want to thank the thousands of you who have come out to oppose the Trump administration’s occupation of this city,” Wheeler told hundreds gathered downtown. “The reason this is important is it is not just happening in Portland … we’re on the front line here in Portland.” Wheeler has been accused by critics including city council members of not reining in local police who used tear gas multiple times on protesters before federal agents arrived early this month in response to nearly two months of nightly protests since George Floyd was killed. And city business leaders have condemned Wheeler for not bringing the situation under control before the agents showed up. Department of Homeland Security acting Secretary Chad Wolf denied that federal agents were inflaming the situation in Portland. He told CBS’ “CBS This Morning” on Thursday that Wheeler legitimized criminality in the city by going to the front of huge crowd of demonstrators right in front of the courthouse where the fires were lit and people were trying to pull down the protective fence. “What we know is before DHS law enforcement, civil law enforcement, officers arrived in Portland, the mayor is on record as saying that the city is on — has a certain level of violence,” Wolf said. “It was ongoing well for a month before we arrived.” Wheeler did not participate in lighting any of the fires or attempting to tear down the fence and was surrounded by his security team when he was gassed. Earlier, protesters held signs saying “Tear Gas Ted” in reference to the Portland Police Bureau’s use of the substance before federal agents arrived. As Wheeler left the protest zone about 12:40 a.m. Thursday, one person shouted that he should be there “every single night.” The Portland Police Bureau, which has stayed on the sidelines of the demonstrations for several days, declared that there was a riot at the site less than an hour after Wheeler left and […]

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