The Trump Administration is sending an additional 100 US Marshals to Portland to bolster the estimated 114 federal agents from various agents there to protect the federal courthouse, the Washington Post is reporting.
The reinforcements come as the mayor of Portland and the governor of Oregon, along with other local, state and federal officials, have decried the use of federal agents in the city, with the mayor and governor calling for their withdrawal because they were not requested.
In additional to the 100 marshals, the Trump Administration is considering adding 50 Customs and Border Protection agents to their ranks.
The presence of federal agents–many of whom are storming the streets in camouflage uniforms without agency badging or personal identifiers–has raised the level of tension in the city, which was seeing a downturn in unrest before the agents were deployed.
The Trump Administration, however, has said that the agents are being sent to quash violence in the city, and that the agents have come under attack from protestors.
Video, however, shows peaceful protesters being detained by supposed agents in tactical gear, without agency badging or personal identification, and being taken to unmarked vans which take them to unknown locations.
Another video went viral, showing a 53-year-old Navy vet and US Naval Academy alumnus being beaten with a club and pepper sprayed by law enforcement while trying to engage the officers in conversation.
Trump has claimed he will send federal agents to at least ten “Democat-run” cities around the country to suppress violence, and he’s already deployed agents to Seattle without the local governments’ authorization.
Critics have said that such deployments and the tactics used by these agents are raising violence and inciting more protests. Many pundits have described the orders as a political stunt to paint Trump as a “tough on crime” president in an election year.