Huge crowd confronts federal cops in Portland

Huge crowd confronts federal cops in Portland

[NFA] Federal law enforcement in military fatigues fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the streets of Portland, Oregon, which local news described as the largest demonstration in over 50 nights of clashes.

Jillian Kitchener has more.

EDITORS NOTE: RESENDING WITH SOURCE - CLYPIAN/EDDY BINFORD-ROSS Federal officers - in the early hours of Tuesday - fired tear gas to disperse protesters in an escalating series of standoffs between local demonstrators calling for police reform, and unidentified, camouflage-clad officers sent by Washington to quell the unrest.

Local TV reported the demonstration assembled Monday night was the largest the city had seen in more than fifty nights of protest against police brutality and systematic racism.

The crowd included hundreds of mothers and fathers dressed in yellow and orange demanding the federal agents withdraw.

Videos posted on social media showed some protesters banging on - and pulling down - fencing surrounding a federal courthouse before getting hit with a smoke canister.

City and state leaders have called on President Donald Trump to pull back the secret police forces belonging to various agencies overseen by the Department of Homeland Security.

But Trump on Monday said he would send law enforcement to more U.S. cities where protests have flared: (TRUMP): "Well, I'm going to do something; that I can tell you because we're not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore, and all of these, Oakland is a mess, we're not going to let this happen in our country.

All run by liberal Democrats.” Despite the national outcry, Department of Homeland Security officials on Monday said they would not back down and would not apologize.

The Chicago Tribune reported that DHS planned to deploy around 150 agents in that city this week.