A federal trial over whether President Donald Trump can deploy the National Guard to Portland, Oregon, began Wednesday, with a police commander describing on the witness stand how federal agents at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement building repeatedly fired tear gas at nonviolent protesters. Attorneys for the city and state are attempting to block Trump from deploying troops by arguing that they aren't needed to enforce the laws and that the president should not be allowed to use the military to remedy a situation worsened by federal agents.
Portland Police Bureau Cmdr. Franz Schoening called federal agents' actions at the building, which has been the site of mostly small protests since June, "startling." State and federal law prohibit police agencies from using munitions, including tear gas, the way the federal officers have, Schoening said. City police officers themselves had been tear-gassed and forced to pull away from the scene, Schoening said. During a larger protest on October 18, a federal agent fired smoke or tear gas munitions from a 40-millimeter launcher. One skipped off the driveway in front of the building and landed on the roof, where other federal officers were posted.
