U.S. Department of Justice identifies Portland as jurisdiction permitting violence

PORTLAND, Ore. — The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday that it has identified Portland, Seattle, and New York City as jurisdictions that have permitted violence and destruction of property and that have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities.

The declaration comes in response to President Donald Trump's memorandum from Sept. 2, 2020. The memorandum is titled “Memorandum on Reviewing Funding to State and Local Government Recipients That Are Permitting Anarchy, Violence, and Destruction in American Cities.”

In a statement regarding the announcement, U.S. Attorney General William Barr said, "When state and local leaders impede their own law enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest... We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance. It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens."

The Department of Justice says it is evaluating cities on the following criteria:

• Whether a jurisdiction forbids the police force from intervening to restore order amid widespread or sustained violence or destruction.
• Whether a jurisdiction has withdrawn law enforcement protection from a geographical area or structure that law enforcement officers are lawfully entitled to access but have been officially prevented from accessing or permitted to access only in exceptional circumstances, except when law enforcement officers are briefly withheld as a tactical decision intended to resolve safely and expeditiously a specific and ongoing unlawful incident posing an imminent threat to the safety of individuals or law enforcement officers.
• Whether a jurisdiction disempowers or defunds police departments.
• Whether a jurisdiction unreasonably refuses to accept offers of law enforcement assistance from the Federal Government.
• Any other related factors the Attorney General deems appropriate.

In its press release, the Department of Justice notes that Portland had more than 100 consecutive nights of protests "marred by vandalism, chaos, and even killing." It said protesters started fires, threw projectiles at law enforcement officers, and destroyed property. The DOJ says several officers were injured.

RELATED | Portland protests reach 100 days, many of which were violent

The DOJ also pointed out that shootings in Portland increased by more than 140% in June and July 2020 compared to the same period last year.

The release says Portland cut $15 million from the police bureau, which included eliminating the Gun Violence Reduction Team. These cuts also eliminated 84 positions.

The DOJ also highlighted the fact that Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler sent a letter to Trump in August denying the president's offer to send in more federal officers to respond to the protests.

READ: Mayor Wheeler's response

Later on Monday, Mayor Wheeler responded to the statement, saying in part:

This is thoroughly political and unconstitutional. The President is playing cheap political games with Congressionally directed funds.

Pres. Trump has previously threatened to cut funding from cities he calls "anarchist jurisdictions."