Civil Rights
Joining Merkley on the bill are Sen. Ron Wyden and Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici, all Democrats. More than a dozen Congress members from other states also signed on as cosponsors.
On Monday, Oregon leaders, including Jeff Merkley, introduced new legislation in order to block the Trump administration from deploying federal officers in U.S. cities.
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., reacts to the weekend clashes between federal law enforcement officials and demonstrators during protests against racial inequality in Portland.
Democratic Rep. Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon says the escalation of federal force against protesters is Trump's attempt to deflect from his "failed leadership."
The federal response has greatly concerned Oregon's representatives in Washington, D.C. Merkley and Ron Wyden, both Democratic senators, as well as Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer of the House of Representatives, have written U.S. Attorney General William Barr to demand answers into how the federal officers were deployed and the scope of their activities.
Describing the federal agents as "acting like an occupying army," Wyden demanded answers from both Trump and Homeland Security.
Wyden, alongside Senator Jeff Merkley (D.-Ore.), and U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D.-Ore.) and Suzanne Bonamici (D.-Ore.), also demanded an explanation from Attorney General William Barr and acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, expressing concern that the U.S. Marshals and others are taking direction from federal agents outside of Oregon.
During protests over the weekend, a federal agent shot a 26-year-old peaceful demonstrator in the head with a munition, fracturing his skull.
"Federal forces shot an unarmed protester in the face," Merkley tweeted Thursday. "These shadowy forces have been escalating, not preventing, violence. If Wolf is coming here to inflame the situation so Donald Trump can look like a tough guy, he should turn around and leave our city now."
Portland Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis has said his department did not request federal assistance and is not coordinating with the federal officers. "I don't have authority to order federal officers to do things," Davis told the AP. "It does complicate things for us."