The mayors of Portland, Oregon, and five other major U.S. cities appealed Monday to Congress to make it illegal for the federal government to deploy militarized agents to cities that don’t want their presence. “This administration’s egregious use of federal force on cities over the objections of local authorities should never happen,” the mayors of Portland; Seattle; Chicago; Kansas City; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Washington wrote to leaders of the U.S. House and Senate. Video from early Tuesday showed law enforcement officers in Portland filling a street with tear gas to disperse protesters and several loud booms were heard. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty late Monday called for a meeting with Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to discuss a cease-fire and removal of heightened federal forces from Portland. Earlier Monday, a U.S. official said militarized officers will stay in Portland until attacks on the federal courthouse cease — and that more officers may soon head to the city. “It is not a solution to tell federal officers to leave when there continues to be attacks on federal property and personnel,” U.S. Attorney Billy Williams said. ”We are not leaving the building unprotected to be destroyed by people intent on doing so.” Local and state officials said the federal officers are unwelcome. The city has had nightly protests for two months since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. President Donald Trump said he sent the federal agents to Portland to halt the unrest, but state and local officials said they are making the situation worse. Trump’s deployment of the federal officers over the July 4 weekend stoked the Black Lives Matter movement. The number of nightly protesters had dwindled to perhaps less than 100 right before the deployment but has now has swelled to the thousands. In protests and violence that happened Sunday night into early Monday morning, the federal agents repeatedly fired tear gas, flash bangs and pepper balls at protesters outside the federal courthouse in downtown Portland. Some protesters had climbed over the fence surrounding the courthouse, while others shot fireworks, banged on the fence and projected lights on the building. Trump said on Twitter that federal properties in Portland “wouldn’t last a day” without the presence of the federal agents. Most people participating in the daily demonstrations have been peaceful. But some attempt to pelt officers with objects and repeatedly try to tear down fencing around the courthouse. Williams, whose office is inside the courthouse, called on peaceful protesters, community and business leaders and people of faith to prevent violence while they are there and to leave the downtown area before violence starts. He said federal agents have made 83 arrests. Demonstrations in support of racial justice and police reform in other cities around the U.S. were also marred by violence over the weekend. Protesters set fire to an Oakland, California, courthouse; vehicles were set ablaze in Richmond, Virginia; an armed protester was shot and killed in Austin, Texas; and two people were shot and wounded in Aurora, Colorado, after a car drove through a protest. The U.S. Marshals Service has lined up about 100 people they could send to hotspots, either to strengthen forces or relieve officers who have been working for weeks, agency spokesperson Drew Wade […]

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