President Donald Trump said Saturday he has ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to deploy U.S. military forces to Portland, declaring on Truth Social that he was prepared to authorize the use of “full force” against unrest in the city.
Trump wrote that the move came at the request of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “I am instructing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect war-ravaged Portland and our ICE facilities that are under attack by Antifa and other domestic terrorists,” the president said in his post.
The announcement raises immediate legal questions. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 generally prohibits federal troops from engaging in domestic law enforcement, making it unclear what authority Trump would use to justify the deployment.
Neither the White House nor the Pentagon responded right away to requests for clarification on how or when the plan would be carried out.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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