After Portland, Trump will send 'unknown' forces to 'liberal Democrat' cities to muzzle protests

United States President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that he would send more law enforcement agents to multiple US cities in an attempt to shut down protests that have been raging in the country for more than a month now.

Calling for an end to racism and police brutality, the protests initially began after a black man, George Floyd was murdered in the hands of a policeman, Chauvin in the city of Minneapolis.

"Unknown forces"

He recently dispatched “unknown” forces to Portland, Oregon, where the protests are currently on. These civilian-looking officers arrested people and unleashed violence, according to reports. None of them were wearing a uniform, which has caused a furore among activists.

While referring to Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, Oakland, Detroit, and Oakland, the Republican president promised to send in more forces, solely because the cities’ mayors are “Liberal Democrats”.

"We're sending law enforcement… We can’t let this happen to the cities”, he said at the White House.

After footage showed police forces from the Department of Homeland Security rounding up people and taking them away in black minivans, leaders in Oregon along with activists and members of US Congress have called on Trump to take back the forces.

State and local leaders in Oregon, as well as members of Congress, have called for Trump to remove the secret police.

"Breaking the law"

"Not only do I believe he is breaking the law, but he is also endangering the lives of Portlanders," the city's mayor, Ted Wheeler, tweeted. Wheeler had earlier to referred to federal forces in the city as “political theater” given the upcoming election.

In June, Trump had referred to himself as a president of “law and order” and had threatened to send in US military to stop violence in many US cities.

Since last week, under Trump’s orders, federal agents have used tear gas against protesters in Portland, and have arrested many without explanation.

"They grab a lot of people and jail the leaders. These are anarchists," Trump said while talking about the federal agents.

Department of Homeland Security on Monday said that they don’t intend to back down, and they will not apologise.

The state of Oregon has responded by suing the Trump administration for unlawful detention of its residents, with many Republican leaders like Rand Paul also lending support to the sentiment.

(With inputs from Reuters and AFP)