United Nations Warns Trump Administration Against Using Federal Forces in Portland

A dramatic scene has been unfolding in the Pacific Northwest, and Americans aren’t the only ones taking notice.

In Portland, Oregon, a vast ensemble of federal forces have amassed under the direction of the President.  Their mission is to protect federal assets in the city, (courthouses and the like), from a glut of protesters; some of whom have turned rowdy at night.

Some have taken umbrage to the presence of these federal forces, however, especially as evidence emerges that they are operating without badges or identification, and are using unmarked rental vehicles to round up demonstrators.

Now, even the United Nations is speaking out.

“There have been reports that peaceful protesters have been detained by unidentified police officers and that is a worry because it may place those detained outside the protection of the law and may give rise to arbitrary detention and other human rights violations,” Liz Throssell, a U.N. human rights spokeswoman, said at a news briefing in Geneva on Friday.

“The authorities should ensure that federal and local security forces deployed are properly and clearly identified and would use force only when necessary, proportionately and in accordance with international standards,” she said.

President Trump dispatched members of the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Federal Protective Service and U.S. Marshals Service to both Portland and Washington, D.C., where peaceful demonstrations have turned violent, with ratcheted-up efforts to deface federal property and, in some cases, attack officers.

President Trump has stated that similar forces will soon be deployed in cities such as Chicago and Seattle as well.