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Al-Ahed Telegram

Mayors Urge US Congress to Block Trump’s Anti-Protesters Federal Deployment

Mayors Urge US Congress to Block Trump’s Anti-Protesters Federal Deployment
folder_openUnited States access_time3 years ago
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By Staff, Agencies

Several US mayors urged the Congress to halt US President Donald Trump's deployment of federal forces to their cities, saying the move has escalated tensions at anti-racism protests in the country.

"We call on Congress to pass legislation to make clear that these actions are unlawful and repugnant," the Democratic mayors of Portland, Chicago, Seattle, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Kansas City, Missouri and Washington DC, wrote in a letter to the leaders of both parties in the Senate and House of Representatives.

The request came on the same day the US attorney for Oregon announced the arrest of 22 people on charges stemming from clashes with federal and local police at the federal courthouse in Portland, Reuters said.

The deployment of federal agents to Portland and Oregon has drawn sharp criticism after they whisked away demonstrators in unmarked cars, beat a US Navy veteran and tear-gassed activist mothers and Portland's mayor.

Portland has marked the 61st consecutive day of anti-racism protests with clashes between anti-racism protesters and authorities near the city's federal courthouse.

The US Black Lives Matter protests, which erupted after the police killing of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, surged over the weekend, with an escalation in violence and the appearance of white supremacists and an armed Black militia.

One person was shot dead at an Austin, Texas, protest on Saturday and two others were struck by gunfire at demonstration in Aurora, Colorado on Sunday.

45 people were arrested in Seattle during a protest over the deployment of federal agents to Portland and a standby force to Seattle. Protesters in Los Angeles clashed with officers in front of the city's federal courthouse.

Hundreds of people have so far been arrested for participating in the Black lives Matter protests across the United States since late May.

Violence also broke out in Richmond, Virginia after white supremacists posed as Black Lives Matter protesters, police said.

A Black militia group marched through Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, a Black woman killed by police who burst into her apartment.