Portland mayor, leaders of other Democrat-led cities targeted by Trump call for laws restricting use of federal officers

As first reported by OPB Sunday, the Trump administration plans to send dozens more deputy marshals to Portland to increase the number of federal forces stationed at the downtown federal court during nightly demonstrations.

Democratic Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden along with Rep. Suzanne Bonamici and Rep. Earl Blumenauer were among lawmakers who introduced legislation last week aimed at scaling back the use of federal officers against protesters in Portland and other cities. The proposals include clear identification for federal officers and limits on their crowd control activities as well as requiring public notification of federal deployments that specify the number of officers and the reason why they're being sent.

Portland has seen nightly demonstrations for two months calling for police reforms and an end to systemic racism since the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis in late May. Portland police and, in recent weeks, federal officers have repeatedly come under scrutiny for their use tear gas and other force on hundreds of protesters in response to a few who throw rocks, water bottles and fireworks at officers and graffiti private and public property.