Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf sent a letter to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler asking him to step up and ask for help from the federal government as his city has seen months of unrelenting protests and bloody riots. Eyewitness accounts have provided disturbing images and videos of Black Lives Matter and Antifa members brutally beating people. But the mayor recently rejected President Trump's help.
"On behalf of the City of Portland: No thanks,” Wheeler wrote in his open letter last week.
He added that most of the protesters in Portland are "peaceful," and that when Trump sent federal agents to the city last month, he made the situation "worse."
“Portlanders are onto you,” Wheeler wrote. “We have already seen your reckless disregard for human life in your bumbling response to the COVID pandemic. And we know you’ve reached the conclusion that images of violence or vandalism are your only ticket to reelection.”
Acting Secretary Wolf urged him to reconsider their offer. If not, he warned, they're taking action.
Portland’s mayor has stood by passively, arguing the nightly violence “will ultimately burn itself out.” The evidence demonstrates otherwise. Again, I urge Portland leaders to prioritize public safety & request federal assistance to restore law & order. https://t.co/1ZiyRXdBtP
— Acting Secretary Chad Wolf (@DHS_Wolf) September 1, 2020
“I urge you to prioritize public safety and to request federal assistance to restore law and order in Portland,” Wolf wrote in the letter obtained by Fox News. “We are standing by to support Portland. At the same time, President Trump has made it abundantly clear that there will come a point when state and local officials fail to protect its citizens from violence, the federal government will have no choice but to protect our American citizens.”
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He used Wisconsin as an example. Gov. Tony Evers requested and received federal law enforcement assistance after the police shooting of African-American man Jacob Blake in Kenosha, and the violence and looting has largely ended, Wolf noted. However, Gov. Evers told President Trump to stay away from Kenosha - advice which Trump plans to ignore.
It's now Mayor Wheeler's turn to accept their support, Wolf argued.
“Accordingly, I urge you to prioritize public safety and to request federal assistance to restore law and order in Portland," Wolf continued in his letter. "We are standing by to support Portland. At the same time, President Trump has made it abundantly clear that there will come a point when state and local officials fail to protect its citizens from violence, the federal government will have no choice but to protect our American citizens.”
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