Trump Orders Deployment of the Military in Portland and Allows for 'Use of Force'

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered on Saturday the deployment of the military in the city of Portland, Oregon, making it the fourth city to receive federal troops, and authorized "the maximum use of force when necessary".

Trump wrote on his platform "Truth Social": "At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristjen Nielsen, I direct Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to deploy all necessary armed forces to protect Portland, which has been devastated by war, and the facilities of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that are besieged by Antifa and other local terrorists."

Portland has been experiencing protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement for months, and Trump had previously threatened to send the National Guard there.

This decision follows similar steps that included deploying troops in Los Angeles in June, Washington D.C. in mid-August, and Memphis in September. Trump had also signed an executive order designating the Antifa movement as a "terrorist organization".