Democratic governors vow court fight after Trump sends California National Guard members to Oregon

Law enforcement officers stand after deploying tear gas outside a U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility during a protest on Saturday Oct in Portland Ore AP Photo Jenny Kane AP Jenny Kane Law enforcement officers stand after deploying tear gas outside a U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility during a protest on Saturday Oct in Portland Ore AP Photo Jenny Kane AP Jenny Kane President Donald Trump is sending California National Guard members to Oregon after a judge temporarily blocked his administration from deploying that state s guard to Portland and the Democratic governors of both states pledged Sunday to fight the move in court A Pentagon spokesperson announced in a declaration that about federalized members of the California National Guard who had been on duty around Los Angeles were being reassigned to Portland Oregon Gov Tina Kotek explained about arrived Saturday and around more were en way Sunday Kotek commented there had been no formal communication with the federal ruling body about the deployment California Gov Gavin Newsom s office noted about previously federalized California guard members could eventually be deployed The events in Oregon come a day after Illinois governor made a similar announcement about troops in his state being activated Kotek noted the latest move by federal functionaries is an attempt to circumvent Saturday s court ruling that blocked deployment of Oregon s guard members The facts on the ground in Oregon haven t changed Kotek announced during a news conference Sunday There s no need for military intervention in Oregon There s no insurrection in Portland there s no threat to national safeguard Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield the state would go back to court on Monday along with California seeking to block the latest deployment What was unlawful the previous day is unlawful in current times Rayfield reported The judge s order was not several minor procedural point for the president to work around like my -year-old does when he doesn t like my answers Rayfield added that Oregon will absolutely not be a party to the president s attempt to normalize the use of the United States military in our American cities Newsom a Democrat stated in a message that California personnel were on their way Sunday and called the deployment a breathtaking abuse of the law and power He mentioned these troops were federalized and put under the president s control months ago over his objections in response to unrest in Los Angeles The commander-in-chief is using the U S military as a political weapon against American citizens Newsom stated We will take this fight to court but the citizens cannot stay silent in the face of such reckless and authoritarian conduct by the president of the United States The U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland has in the past few days been the site of nightly protests A Trump-appointed federal judge in Oregon on Saturday temporarily blocked the Trump administration s plan to deploy the Oregon National Guard in Portland to protect federal property amid protests after Trump called the city war-ravaged Oregon authorities and Portland residents alike announced that description was ludicrous The protest was relatively small and localized to just one block of the city of residents Kotek mentioned U S District Judge Karin Immergut a Trump appointee during his first term issued the order pending further arguments in a lawsuit brought by the state and city She disclosed the relatively small protests did not justify the use of federalized forces and allowing the deployment could harm Oregon s state sovereignty Portland Mayor Keith Wilson noted Sunday that he saw federal agents engaged in what he described as unjustified use of force and indiscriminately spraying pepper spray and impact munitions during a protest outside the ICE facility This is an aggressive approach trying to inflame the situation that has otherwise been peaceful Wilson commented Portland has alerted the civil rights division of the Department of Justice to the agents actions Wilson mentioned Trump has characterized both Portland and Chicago as cities rife with crime and unrest Since the start of his second term he has sent or talked about sending troops to cities Trump authorized the deployment of Illinois National Guard troops to protect federal officers and assets in Chicago on Saturday Illinois Gov JB Pritzker s office reported the situation in Chicago does not require the use of the military and as a outcome the Governor opposes the deployment of the national guard under any status Pritzker didn t receive any calls from federal functionaries about the deployment his office revealed Weber published from Los Angeles and Brook from New Orleans Associated Press journalists Jennifer McDermott in Providence Rhode Island and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this statement Source