Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Was Trump’S Deployment Of Federal Officers To Portland, Oregon And Other Cities During The Summer Of 2020 Legal And Constitutional?, Celina Tebor

Copley Library Undergraduate Research Awards

Amidst nationwide protests calling for racial justice after the killing of George Floyd, President Donald Trump deployed federal troops to several cities across the country, including Portland, Oregon. The legal basis for sending the troops was to protect federal property, and relied upon the powers of the Department of Homeland Security and an executive order from summer 2020. However, President Trump’s rhetoric surrounding the deployment suggested that they were truly sent into cities to serve as domestic law enforcement and quell the protests. And as the troops’ presence lengthened and increased in Portland, reports of kidnapping and tossing protestors into …