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"You will undoubtedly be insulted, abused and perhaps assaulted, to which you must pay no attention whatever, but march with your faces square to the front, and pay no attention to the mob, even if they throw stones, bricks, or other missiles; but if you are fired upon, and any of you are hit, your officers will order you to fire. Do not fire into any promiscuous crowds, but select any man whom you may see aiming at you, and be sure you drop him." Col. Edward F. Jones, 6th Massachusetts Regiment, as his regiment traveled through Baltimore, Maryland on April 19, 1861.
As History.com explained, in 1861 Secessionist sympathy was strong in Maryland, a border state where slavery was legal, and an angry mob of secessionists gathered to confront the legitimate government’s troops passing through the city:
Hoping to prevent the regiment from reaching the railroad station, and thus Washington, the mob blocked the carriages, and the troops were forced to continue on foot. The mob followed close behind and then, joined by other rioters, surrounded the regiment. Jeering turned to brick and stone throwing, and several federal troops responded by firing into the crowd. In the ensuing mayhem, the troops fought their way to the train station, taking and inflicting more casualties. At the terminal, the infantrymen were aided by Baltimore police, who held the crowd back and allowed them to board their train and escape. Much of their equipment was left behind. Four soldiers and 12 rioters were killed in what is generally regarded as the first bloodshed of the Civil War.
Maryland officials demanded that no more federal troops be sent through the state, and secessionists destroyed rail bridges and telegraph lines to Washington to hinder the federal war effort. In May, Union troops occupied Baltimore, and martial law was declared.
Maryland officials demanded that no more federal troops be sent through the state, and secessionists destroyed rail bridges and telegraph lines to Washington to hinder the federal war effort. In May, Union troops occupied Baltimore, and martial law was declared.
While they appeared to wish to maintain law and order, Baltimore’s Marshal George P. Kane and Mayor George W. Brown would both later be jailed by the Union army for pro-rebel activities.
In actions eerily reminiscent of those of public officials during and after pre-Civil War Baltimore’s “Pratt Street Riot,” Portland city and Oregon state officials have taken the side of anti-government insurgents and, even worse than their Confederate-sympathizing Democrat antecedents, they have not only joined the rebel side, but have refused to keep and maintain order, in what was formerly one of the jewels of the Pacific Northwest.
Today, after years of street violence by ANTIFA and days of violent insurrection by ANTIFA and BLM thugs, including attempts to set fire to the federal court house and the offices of the Portland Police Union, Portland’s city center is a burned-out wreck. However, rather than act to preserve order Portland city officials and Oregon officials have, in effect, joined the Confederacy.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek urged President Trump by phone on Saturday to back off of threats to send troops to Portland.
“Portland is doing just fine, and I made that very clear to the President this morning,” Kotek said at a press conference on the city’s waterfront, flanked by local elected leaders and businesspeople.
“Our city is a far cry from the war-ravaged community that he has posted about on social media. I conveyed that directly to him.”
“Don’t take the bait,” U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley said at the impromptu Friday briefing at a Northeast Portland church, flanked by city, county and federal leaders.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said “the number of necessary troops is zero, in Portland and any other American city.”
“Our nation has a long memory for acts of oppression, and the president will not find lawlessness or violence here unless he plans to perpetrate it,” Wilson said. “Imagine if the federal government sent hundreds of engineers, or teachers, or outreach workers to Portland, instead of a short, expensive, and fruitless show of force.”
Trump announced that he would be sending troops to “protect war-ravaged Portland,” and that he was authorizing full force if necessary.
Wilson noted Saturday that the meaning of full force is not clear, reported NPR.
“There are new risks today, risks that we do not yet fully understand,” Wilson said. “The administration has refused to elaborate on what they mean when they say they will deploy full force against our city and citizens.”
The executive order, which says anyone who damages a public property must be prosecuted to the "fullest extent of the law," allows federal officers to be deployed without the permission of the state.
Speaking at the Saturday press event, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici called Trump’s announcement “a gross abuse of power by the president.”
“He does not have the authority to send military troops to a city,” the Democrat said.
U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter on Saturday morning said Trump’s announcement was a betrayal of American values.
“Authoritarians rely on fear to divide us,” Dexter said. “Portland will not give them that. We will not be intimidated.”
Republicans cheered Trump’s announcement.
“The governor’s assertion that there is no national security threat and the mayor’s assertion that everything is fine is tone-deaf,” said Christine Drazan, the state’s House minority leader.
“It’s shameful that state and local leaders have allowed violent mobs and domestic terrorists to assault federal law enforcement, destroy property, and interfere with those seeking immigration services from obtaining assistance and case management. We need order, we need to restore safety, and Oregon’s local leaders have failed to provide it.”
Meanwhile, former Oregon representative and current U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer echoed Trump’s characterization of Portland.
“I’ve seen firsthand how lawlessness has transformed Portland from a beautiful place to live to a crime-ridden war zone,” she said in a post on X. “Thank you, @POTUS, for taking action to keep our ICE facilities protected and Make America Safe Again!”
George Rasley is editor of Richard Viguerie's ConservativeHQ.com and is a veteran of over 300 political campaigns. A member of American MENSA, he served on the staff of Vice President Dan Quayle, as Director of Policy and Communication for former Congressman Adam Putnam (FL-12) then Vice Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, and as spokesman for retired Rep. Mac Thornberry formerly a member of the House Intelligence Committee and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
- Trump Executive Orders
- Portland Oregon
- leftist violence
- Department of Justice
- Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek
- U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
- Portland Mayor Keith Wilson
- Democrat Party
- leftist violence
- Antifa
- U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici
- U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter
- national security
- ICE enforcement
- illegal immigration
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