Democrats gloss over anti-ICE violence in Portland ahead of Trump's crackdown on 'domestic terrorists'

President Donald Trump announced on Saturday — just days after a radical opened fire on an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas — that per Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's request, he was directing War Secretary Pete Hegseth "to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists."

Trump, who on Sept. 17 designated Antifa as a "MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION," noted further that he was "authorizing Full Force, if necessary."

The US Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon indicated that as of Sept. 8, a total of 26 defendants had been charged with federal offenses allegedly committed at the ICE facility in Portland since June 13.

Hegseth took action on Sunday, federalizing 200 members of the Oregon National Guard for a period of 60 days.

Democrats, enraged by the prospect that the Trump administration will swoop in to protect federal agents and assets from "domestic terrorists" in the City of Roses — as it has in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. — are desperately attempting to gloss over anti-ICE violence in the city and to portray federal action as unnecessary.

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson (D) said in a statement, "President Trump has directed 'all necessary Troops' to Portland, Oregon. The number of necessary troops is zero, in Portland and any other American city."

Within hours of state Attorney General Dan Rayfield filing a lawsuit on Sunday aimed at preventing the U.S. government from federalizing and deploying the Oregon National Guard, Governor Tina Kotek (D) said in a video statement that "Portland is not war-ravaged, there's no insurrection, there's no threat to national security, and there's no need for military troops."

The governor shared footage showing her walking in the city with her lesbian partner, Aimee Wilson, early in the day — footage that managed to leave out visual evidence of the radicals teeming in the streets near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building and chasing law enforcement officers, as well as the multitudes of homeless persons occupying the sidewalks and other signs of late-stage societal decay.

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Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden (D) took a page out of California Democrats' playbook and characterized the federal intervention as an "attempt to incite violence" in the supposedly "peaceful city." He proceeded to share a carefully curated montage of nonviolent scenes in Portland, stating, "Every single one of these clips was taken today in downtown Portland. Portland doesn't want or need a federal takeover."

Those responsible for Kotek's and Wyden's videos were gambling with their safety.

Portland has a rating of 1 on Neighborhood Scout's crime index, where 100 is safest. The likelihood of becoming a victim of a violent crime is 1 in 138, and the likelihood of becoming the victim of a property crime is 1 in 17.

According to Portland Police Bureau statistics, the city of 640,000 people had 68 homicides last year; 3,059 reported aggravated assaults and 6,025 simple/intimidation assaults; 70 kidnappings or abductions; 560 sex offenses; and 46,635 property offenses. Already this year, there have been 25 homicides, a 50% year-over-year increase in kidnappings; an increase in all types of assault; a 25% spike in arson; and a 226% increase in drug offenses.

While the city has a general crime problem, the Trump administration is responding specifically to the violence outside the ICE facility and to leftists' attacks on federal agents following the Sept. 24 sniper attack on the ICE field office in Dallas.

RELATED: 'Shoot the f**kers!' Anti-ICE agitators caught on video apparently calling for violence in wake of deadly Dallas shooting

Democratic Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek. Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon indicated that as of Sept. 8, a total of 26 defendants had been charged with federal offenses allegedly committed at the ICE facility in Portland since June 13. The charges include assaulting federal officers, arson, possession of a destructive device, and depredation of government property.

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The attorney's office noted that one radical, Julie Winters of Portland, allegedly attempted to place an incendiary device next to the guard shack at the ICE office on June 24. When confronted by Federal Protective Service officers, Winters allegedly pulled a large knife from her backpack, threatened officers, then threw the knife at an officer.

The Department of Homeland Security highlighted how on June 24, a rioter also allegedly pelted a federal officer with a smoke grenade. Days later, another rioter who had been caught allegedly attempting to damage equipment at the ICE facility "resisted arrest, grabbed an officer in the genitals, and kicked officers in the groin and legs," said the DHS.

In addition to Antifa-linked individuals sending death threats to ICE agents in the city, Rose City Antifa has reportedly doxxed ICE officers, publishing their personal information and home addresses.

A White House official told Blaze News that "despite the crime and neighborhood pushback caused by the months-long protest, Oregon Democrats still refuse to do anything about it, with state and local law enforcement rendered unable to intervene due to sanctuary laws and Gov. Tina Kotek calling President Trump’s offer to deploy National Guard troops in Portland 'absurd, unlawful and un-American.'"

"President Trump is using his lawful authority to direct the National Guard to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following months of violent riots where officers have been assaulted and doxxed by left-wing rioters," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to Blaze News. "The president’s lawful actions will make Portland safer."

Blaze News has reached out to the DHS for comment.

Oregon's lawsuit against the Trump administration, which seeks to block the deployment of the National Guard to Portland, claims that the planned intervention is "provocative and arbitrary" and threatens "to undermine public safety by inciting a public outcry."

The complaint, which makes no mention of anti-ICE radicals apparently rolling out a guillotine at a Sept. 1 riot, downplays the attacks on the ICE facility and federal agents, suggesting that the rioting outside the facility has "been small in recent weeks" and "less energetic" than earlier in the summer.

Liberal media outfits appear keen to help Democrats gaslight about the continued threat posed by the anti-ICE radicals in Portland.

CNN, for instance, characterized the mob actions outside the ICE facility as mostly "peaceful." While Politico acknowledged "the sporadic violence between protesters and federal law enforcement," it reassured readers that "there have been no fatalities at protests this year."

Editor's note: This article has been edited after publication to include comment from the White House.

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