Trump Deploys National Guard Troops to Portland

President Donald Trump directed Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth to deploy “all necessary troops” to Portland, Oregon, after fiery anti-ICE protests rocked the city this week.

The president said he’s authorizing “full force, if necessary” to protect the city and the ICE facilities there from attacks and confrontations by left-wing “domestic terrorists.”

“At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists. I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary,” he posted on Truth Social.

Trump said he deployed the troops at DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s request.

“President Trump and Secretary Noem are taking action to restore law and order following weeks of violent riots at ICE facilities, assaults on law enforcement, and the terrorist attack at our ICE facility in Dallas,” Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the Washington Examiner. “We are not going to allow domestic terrorists to attack our law enforcement. DHS has already arrested dozens of Antifa-aligned left-wing violent extremists who have attacked law enforcement, murdered innocent civilians, and launched a wave of violent riots throughout the Unites States. We will not allow Antifa domestic terrorists to deter us in our mission to make America safe, and those who try will be held accountable.”

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell told the Washington Examiner, “We stand ready to mobilize U.S. military personnel in support of DHS operations in Portland at the President’s direction. The Department will provide information and updates as they become available.”

A White House official noted to the Washington Examiner that protestors had been “congregating” outside a ICE field office in South Portland since June. Earlier this month, the official said, “antifa militants outside of the facility rolled out a guillotine,” in a threatening gesture.

The official added that Oregon Democrats “refuse to do anything” about the protest, also noting that local and state law enforcement can’t intervene due to “sanctuary laws.”

The order comes after attacks on ICE agents prompted Attorney General Pam Bondi to deploy agents from the Department of Justice to protect ICE facilities.

“At my direction, I am deploying DOJ agents to ICE facilities—and wherever ICE comes under siege—to safeguard federal agents, protect federal property, and immediately arrest all individuals engaged in any federal crime,” Bondi said in a post on X.

A shooting at a Dallas ICE field office this week raised awareness to the threats facing the immigration officers. The attack killed a detainee and left two others in critical condition. Noem blamed the attack on “hateful rhetoric.”

“People don’t write anti-ICE messages on ammunition and open fire on law enforcement facilities because they like ICE. This violence is directly fueled by hateful rhetoric. It must end now,” she wrote on X earlier this week.

The president and other Republicans have criticized members of the “radical left” for encouraging, carrying out, and celebrating political violence.

Trump suggested on Thursday that he may intervene in Portland.

“We’re going to get out there and we’re going to do a pretty big number on those people in Portland,” he said. The president describing some of them as “professional agitators and anarchists.”

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson warned against additional ICE agents coming to the city on Friday.

“Like other mayors across the country, I have not asked for — and do not need — federal intervention,” he said.