Trump Orders Troops to Portland in Unprecedented Domestic Escalation

US troops must decide, loyalty to the USA, or loyalty to Trump

Today, US President Donald Trump announced that he will deploy troops to Portland, Oregon, authorizing them to use “full force if necessary.” He framed the move as a response to what he calls attacks on federal immigration facilities, invoking the language of war to describe a major American city. It goes without saying that troops identified on the streets of Portland will have their identities shared on our ICE List project.

This must be seen as the turning point in US history that it is. An acting president has ordered the military to use force against American citizens, in a move that reminds us more of the dictatorships seen in Russia and North Korea, dictatorships that this fascist has declared a great appreciation of. If nothing is done to prevent this, he will move to put troops in more cities, and against more citizens.

US troops are now faced with a true test of their loyalty. Do they serve their President, or do they serve the US public. The constitution is very clear on what the answer is, but this is a regime that does not care about the constitution.

This move raises the risk of mass violations of civil liberties, the death of free speech, and outright military violence against people exercising their right to protest. It is a choice to treat dissent not as democracy but as war.

This moment may prove to be one of the most crucial days in American history. It is a red flag and a call to recognize the gravity of what is happening. If we normalize military deployments in U.S. cities, if we shrug and look away, then the guardrails of democracy will not hold.

This is a turning point, and a calling for serious reaction from US citizens across the country. The infamous checks and balances may never have existed if this isn’t the end of Trump’s presidency.