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US President Donald Trump has ordered federal agents in Portland to leave the city. They have been aggressively policing Black Lives Matter protests for weeks. The DHS (Department of Homeland Security) has announced the Governor of Oregon, Kate Brown has agreed to a joint plan to end the violent activity in Portland directed at federal properties and law enforcement officers. Brown said, “The officers from US Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have acted as an occupying force and brought violence”. She said all federal agents will withdraw starting on Thursday. Brown added, “Our local Oregon State Police officers will be downtown to protect Oregonians’ right to free speech and keep the peace. Let’s center the Black Lives Matter movement’s demands for racial justice and police accountability. It’s time for bold action to reform police practices”.

The DHS Secretary Chad Wolf has characterized the gradual withdrawal in less certain terms. He announced that the department will continue to re-evaluate the city’s efforts before officers leave. Wolf said, “The agency will continue to maintain our current, augmented federal law enforcement personnel in Portland until we are assured that the Hatfield Federal Courthouse and other federal properties will no longer be attacked and that the seat of justice in Portland will remain secure. This has been our mission and objective since the violent, criminal activity began”. The recent deal marks an important turning point after weeks of protests and heightened violence against demonstrators. Point to be noted that protesters have absorbed blows from impact rounds, tear gas, batons, flash-bang grenades, and other weapons.

It is noteworthy that Portland has seen at least 2 months of daily protests in the wake of police killings of black Americans. It inspired international movements against police brutality and systemic racism. President Trump issued an executive order to deploy federal agents to protect statues and federal property. Trump has categorized protests as violent mobs though a majority of protesters including walls of mothers, US military veterans, and nurses that have linked arms to defend protesters from federal attacks have largely remained peaceful. President said just hours before the announcement, “We told the governor. We told the mayor. Secure your city. If they don’t secure their city soon, we have no choice. We’re going to have to go in and clean it out”.