2020 deployment of federal forces in the United States

rdf:langString 2020 deployment of federal forces in the United States

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rdf:langString Top: Federal Bureau of Prisons SORT personnel–many lacking identifying insignia–and National Guardsmen of the 19th Special Forces Group in Washington, D.C., June 2020.

rdf:langString Bottom: Federal agents in body armor and camouflage detain a masked person before placing him in an unmarked van in Portland, Oregon, July 2020.

rdf:langString Reprisals .jpg

rdf:langString SPD Trying to Disperse Protestors .jpg

rdf:langString Unidentified federal agents, Portland July 2020.png

rdf:langString Mayors respond to Trump agent 'surge', BBC News

rdf:langString BLM protests: Local officials criticise federal agent presence in Portland, BBC News

rdf:langString Portland's mayor tear gassed by federal agents, CBC News

rdf:langString In June 2020, the Trump administration began deploying federal law enforcement forces to select cities in the United States in response to rioting and monument removals amid the George Floyd protests. Federal law enforcement elements were deployed under Operation Legend, Operation Diligent Valor, and the Protecting American Communities Task Force (PACT). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cited an executive order regarding "monuments, memorials and statues" as allowing federal officers to be deployed without the permission of individual U.S. states, as the federal government "has the right to enforce federal laws, investigate crimes and make arrests" within states. On June 1, 2020, in Washington, D.C., federal law enforcement deployed riot control tactics and munitions against protesters to expand a security perimeter, which allowed for President Donald Trump to later walk from the White House to the historic St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square for a brief photo op. Days later, anonymous federal forces began to appear on D.C. streets, with many refusing to identify themselves. In July 2020, federal forces were deployed in Portland, Oregon as part of the PACT, where their use of unmarked cars and officers in camouflage without clear identification badges generated outrage. DHS officials defended the use of unmarked vehicles and unidentified officers in camouflage; acting DHS deputy secretary Ken Cuccinelli said "Unmarked police vehicles are so common it's barely worth discussion" and that officers wore the same uniforms and equipment each day, so demonstrators could nevertheless identify them. Federal details were also deployed to Kansas City and Seattle. DHS had plans to send 150 agents to Chicago and President Trump had threatened future deployments to other cities "run by liberal Democrats," including Oakland, California and New York. According to a Government Accountability Office report released in September 2020 and based on self-reported data, tactical teams from 16 federal agencies were deployed to multiple cities in May and June alone, including Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, CA; Denver, CO; Washington, DC; Miami, FL; Detroit and Port Huron, MI; St. Louis, MO; Buffalo and New York City, NY; Dallas, El Paso, Houston, and Pearland, TX; and Seattle and Tacoma, WA. The deployment was met with lawsuits, rebukes, and concerns over constitutionality. In May 2021, Trump's successor Joe Biden revoked the executive order that allowed for federal prosecution of individuals that vandalized federal monuments.