The president of Portland’s police union is ready to work with federal officials as his city is ravaged by crime and violent riots involving the leftist domestic terror group, Antifa.
After President Donald Trump said he wanted National Guard troops on the ground in Portland, Oregon, to combat crime and shield Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities from Antifa attacks, Portland Police Association President Sgt. Aaron Schmautz said he wants to work with federal authorities, Fox News reported on Thursday.
He told the outlet, “Let’s present what resources we have to bring to bear to accomplish that task. And if it’s not sufficient, then we need help. And so, you know, again, I don’t want to be drawn into a hard yes or no. What I want is for us all to identify the problem and work together as a whole of government to solve the problem.”
President Trump in September signed an executive order designating Antifa a domestic terrorist organization, according to Breitbart News:
The order comes less than two weeks after the assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Authorities reported that ammunition casings recovered from the suspected weapon were inscribed with Antifa-related slogans, including “Hey fascist! Catch!” and the chorus of “Bella Ciao,” an anthem associated with communist partisans in Italy during World War II and later adopted by Antifa groups worldwide. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox confirmed the suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, confessed to the shooting. Prosecutors have since filed seven charges against Robinson and confirmed they are seeking the death penalty.
Trump later authorized the use of troops to protect Portland and ICE facilities that he said were “under siege from attack by Antifa.”
However, Democrats have pushed back against his efforts. Trump criticized Democrat leaders in Portland and Chicago, saying they want to “inflame crime” while he and his administration want to decrease it, per Breitbart News.
Indeed, Antifa-affiliated mobs have been targeting the ICE facility in Portland and local police have been accused of doing little to nothing to stop the violence.
Schmautz told Fox the Portland Police Bureau is woefully understaffed and there is a lot of “anti-police rhetoric” during city council meetings.
“We are still working our way out of a significant, you know, burst, or an expansion in our crime profile. I mean, we have, you know, our homicides went up, times five from 2020 to 2023, and we’re kind of slowly receding, although we’ve had nine last month,” he explained further.
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