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He said he refused to answer basic questions about the role of federal officers in Portland.
"What the rules of engagement are, what roles they've been playing on the streets of Portland, who decided what equipment they have or when to use it, they will not answer questions about the level of coordination they've had with Portland Police," Merkley tells KATU News.
He said Deputy Director Derrick Driscoll made clear his officers have full federal authority to protect federal institutions - and to do whatever is needed to accomplish their mission.
Earlier this week, four of Oregon's federal lawmakers demanded answers from U.S. Attorney William Barr and the acting Homeland Security secretary regarding the actions of federal law enforcement agents against demonstrators in downtown Portland in recent weeks, including injuring a protester over the weekend.
On Tuesday, Portland police said groups of people set up barricades on the street, threw glass bottles and pointed laser. Around 4 a.m. Wednesday, federal police used tear gas against protesters. The tear gas was witnessed by some KOIN 6 News staff.
In addition, multiple videos on social media showed federal officers driving an unmarked van downtown, getting out, going up to at least one protester, getting them into the van, then taking off without identifying themselves.
On Tuesday, Portland police said groups of people set up barricades on the street, threw glass bottles and pointed lasers Tuesday night. Around 4 a.m. Wednesday, federal police used tear gas against protesters; the tear gas was witnessed by some KOIN 6 News staff.
The letter, signed by Senator Ron Wyden, Senator Jeff Merkley, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, and Congressman Earl Blumenauer, references protester Donovan LaBella, who was shot in the head with crowd control munition.
LaBella is still recovering at the hospital.
The lawmakers demanded to know more about the federal government's response to protests that have roiled Portland nightly for nearly two months. They said they are especially concerned that the Marshals Service and other federal agents working the protests are taking direction from federal officials outside of Oregon.
The mayor added that he had asked Wolf to clean up the federal buildings in Portland, which have been covered with graffiti since the nightly protests against police brutality began.
Wheeler's remarks come the same day that several Democrats in Oregon's congressional delegation sent a letter to Wolf and Attorney General William Barr condemning the tactics used by federal agents and calling the federal response to protests "intolerable."
The federal employee who critically wounded a 26-year-old demonstrator on Saturday is assigned to a specialized tactical unit of the U.S. Marshals Service, members of Oregon's congressional delegation revealed in a letter Tuesday to top federal law enforcement officials.