WASHINGTON (US) – As many as six Democrat mayors demanded the Congress on Monday to stop the deployment of federal agents in their cities, saying the move heightened tensions at Black Lives Matter protests.
Their request before the Congress came on a day when the attorney for Oregon announced that 22 people had been arrested on charges related to clashing with federal and local police at the Portland federal courthouse.
Deployment of federal agents in Portland grabbed headlines when agents whisked away protesters in unmarked vehicles, manhandled a Navy veteran and lobbed tear gas at the mayor and protesting mothers.
“We call on Congress to pass legislation to make clear that these actions are unlawful and repugnant,” the Democratic mayors of Portland, Chicago, Seattle, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Kansas City, Missouri; and Washington, DC, said in a letter to the Republican and Democrat leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field