Monday on MSNBC, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said President Donald Trump sending federal agents to remove protesters in Portland was unconstitutional and escalating the violence.
Wyden said, “I wish the president was out attacking the coronavirus rather than attacking our cities. If you look at his approach on the coronavirus, it’s basically hands-off. The cities, the localities, they’re just all on their own. When it comes to Black Lives Matter, he is just all hands-on. He is sending his paramilitary squads out there to go after peaceful protesters. And you bet, I don’t think it’s constitutional to go out there and grab and gas people without cause.”
He continued, “Every step of the way, Chad Wolf and Homeland Security, are weaponizing this challenge we know there is hard work to do to deal with racism. For example, I spent much of this week dealing with reducing tensions on the streets with a fresh approach to dealing with mental health challenges. But what we also know is that Chad Wolf and Donald Trump and he just said it at the beginning of your program, he wants to continue to escalate the violence he is trying to play to right-wing media and his political base. This week I and Senator Merkley, my colleague in Oregon, we’ll offer an amendment on the defense bill to try to rein him in.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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