(The Center Square) – A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Monday overturned a temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge in Portland, Ore., removing a judicial obstruction that was preventing the Trump administration from sending Oregon National Guard troops to Portland.
“President [Donald] Trump’s September 28 deployment falls within the history and tradition of the early Militia Acts. Individuals within a group of about 200 people have engaged in violent activity in opposition to a single set of laws that carry out federal immigration enforcement. Rather than try to enact political change through the ballot box, they have assaulted the federal officers in Portland who enforce those laws and other Americans who disagree with them on the wisdom of those laws,” wrote the panel in its 93-page ruling.
The ruling comes in the wake of Trump authorizing the deployment of National Guard troops to American cities including Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Chicago to protect the work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who have been under attack in some cities.
“They tried to burn down a federal building and forced that building to close for three weeks. And sadly, regular federal law enforcement cannot on their own contain the situation. State and local officials have also made clear that they do not support the enforcement of federal immigration law, further impeding the enforcement of federal law,” noted the opinion.
As reported on Sept. 29 by The Center Square, the Trump administration called up 200 members of the Oregon National Guard after describing Portland as “war ravaged” and under the attack of Antifa.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek responded by saying Trump is abusing his authority by ordering troops to the city, which she said is doing “just fine.”
Last month Portland Mayor Keith Wilson emailed a statement that said, in part, “The number of necessary troops is zero in Portland and any other American city,” he wrote. “Our nation has a long memory for acts of oppression, and the president will not find lawlessness or violence here unless he plans to perpetrate it.”
This is a developing story.
