Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was tear-gassed by police while protesting police brutality in the city, Wednesday night. The incident was recorded by a nearby New York Times journalist.
"It stings. It's hard to breathe. I can tell you with 100% honesty I saw nothing that provoked this response," Wheeler said to the camera. "I'm not afraid but I am pissed off."
Wheeler has been vocally opposed to the federal officers sent to Portland by the Trump administration, calling their tactics "abhorrent."
“It’s nasty stuff, I’m not afraid but I am pissed off,” Wheeler said. “This is an egregious overreaction on the part of the federal officers. There was nothing that I saw anybody do that warranted this reaction.
“As you can see, all it’s done is piss everybody off. It’s made everybody angry. They’ve come in and they kicked the hornet’s nest. This is not a de-escalation strategy. This is flat-out urban warfare and it’s being brought on the people of this country by the president of the United States,” the Democratic mayor continued.
There have been reports that unidentified feds are taking protesters into unmarked cars. The state's US Attorney calls this behavior "authoritarian." Many protesters have stated that its the federal response to their protests that has perpetuated their outrage.
[Via]
