In the competition among prominent Democrats to show who can show the most outrage over the role of federal law enforcement in trying to help quell anarchist riots in Portland, former party chairman Howard Dean may be the winner.
After Oregon’s largest city was subjected to its 50th straight night of violent unrest, Dean focused his ire on acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief Chad Wolf. “This guy needs to be arrested, prosecuted and, if convicted, imprisoned for a very long time,” Dean said Saturday on Twitter.
This guy needs to be arrested, prosecuted, and if convicted, imprisoned for a very long time. https://t.co/3Z9d9OZoeF
Leading Democrats in Oregon haven’t gone quite that far, but they have shown more concern over the actions of DHS forces than over those of the rioters. Mayor Ted Wheeler, in fact, said Tuesday that his biggest worry was the tactics that federal officers were using against protesters. He advised the feds to stay in their buildings or leave the city. Governor Kate Brown said, “This political theater from President Trump has nothing to do with public safety.”
Four Democrat lawmakers from the state – US Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and US House members Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici – called Friday for inspectors general in Washington to investigate the “violent actions of federal forces in Portland.” Wyden called the feds an “occupying army,” while Merkley said their actions were “horrific and outrageous.”
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced Friday night that the state sued DHS and other federal agencies, seeking a court order to block them from using such tactics as seizing protesters off the street and whisking them away in unmarked vans to be interrogated. One of the agencies involved in the federal effort, the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), said Friday that in one of the incidents that has been portrayed as the kidnapping of a protester, its officers quickly apprehended a man who was suspected of vandalizing federal property and attacking federal agents the prior day. The officers wore CBP insignia and identified themselves, the agency said.
Wolf vowed Friday that DHS forces will prevail in protecting federal property against “violent anarchists.” He issued a statement Thursday with a timeline detailing attacks on property and people by rioters, including assaults on officers with hammers, slingshots and other weapons. Later Thursday, protesters threatened to “burn down” Portland police’s Southeast Precinct building.
Independent journalists Kalen D’Almeida, co-founder of Scriberr News, tweeted a video early Saturday that he said showed Antifa members carrying away a street preacher who had collapsed after they punched him. Conservative journalist Andy Ngo said the preacher was knocked unconscious for refusing to leave a protest by Antifa in Portland.
Antifa punched street preacher in the face and they carry him away after he collapses in the street. pic.twitter.com/z5rJQNnIxj
Dean, who was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009, has a history of pushing the envelope with his rhetoric. The former Vermont governor was a leading contender for the Democrat nomination for president in 2004 before he let out a guttural scream after a fiery speech to supporters. The scream made Dean the butt of jokes and torpedoed his candidacy.
Dean is no stranger to eyebrow-raising statements, suggesting in September 2016 that Donald Trump’s sniffling during a debate with Hillary Clinton might be attributable to cocaine use. He didn’t produce any evidence back then, and was in no rush to backtrack.
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