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Oregon governor announces "phased withdrawal" of federal agents from Portland

29 July 2020
 Dan Ackermann

The Trump administration has agreed to a "phased withdrawal" of Customs and Border Protection and ICE agents from Portland, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) announced on Wednesday.

Why it matters: Democrats have rebuked the Trump administration for sending federal agents into Portland to quell protests and accused them of escalating violence against civilians. Attorney General Bill Barr, echoing other Trump top officials, said Tuesday that protesters' nightly attacks on the federal courthouse in Portland are "an assault on the government of the United States."

What they're saying: "After discussions with the Vice President and administration officials this week, the federal government has agreed to my demand and will withdraw these officers from Portland. They will also clean up the Courthouse, removing the graffiti," Gov. Brown said.

  • "I have grown increasingly concerned at the nightly confrontation between local community members and federal officers. We need to recognize that the protests in Portland are not solely about the federal presence. They started before federal agents descended on our city and they will likely continue after they leave," Brown said.

The other side: Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement that the administration and Oregon had agreed to a "joint plan to end the violent activity in Portland directed at federal properties and law enforcement officers," which would include a "robust presence" of Oregon State Police to secure federal property.

  • Yes, but: Wolf said that Homeland Security personnel would stay in Portland "until we are assured that the Hatfield Federal Courthouse and other federal properties will no longer be attacked."
  • "The Department will continue to re-evaluate our security posture in Portland, and should circumstances on the ground significantly improve due to the influx of state and local law enforcement, we anticipate the ability to change our force posture, as we do everyday at our other 9,000 federal properties we protect across the country," he added.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.