Photo: Alamy
As President Trump continues to crack down on crime nationwide, there have been rumblings that he is considering invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807, which allows the use of militia and armed forces to enforce federal authority.
The most recent example of the administration’s mission to clean up crime from American streets is Portland, Oregon, where violent protests and civil disorder have seemed to run rampant.
During a bilateral press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, President Trump answered a question about whether he would consider invoking the act, which would allow him to send federal troops to Portland to get the situation under control.
“It’s been invoked before, as you know,” President Trump said. “If you look at Chicago, Chicago’s a great city, where there’s a lot of crime. And if the governor can’t do the job, we’ll do the job – it’s all very simple.”
He noted that Democrat leaders may claim that they “can handle it,” but argued that this wasn’t true. “The mayor’s grossly incompetent,” he said, referring to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. “…We want safe cities.”
On Monday, Mayor Johnson signed an executive order establishing “ICE-free” zones in the city in an attempt to prohibit federal immigration enforcement authorities from utilizing city property to carry out operations.
This is similar to the resistance the Trump administration has seen in Portland. Last week, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson claimed that there is no “lawlessness or violence here unless [Trump] plans to perpetrate it.”
However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has stated that a Portland ICE facility has been “really under siege by these anarchists outside.”
Disseminated footage online of Antifa agitators and protestors in the streets of Portland seems to lend credibility to her claim.