PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — During a Facebook roundtable in Washington Monday, President Trump said “Portland was totally out of control” until he sent in federal agents to deal with the protesters.
In opening remarks at the roundtable with “stakeholders positively impacted by law enforcement, Trump said “We’ve done a great job in Portland.”
“Portland was totally out of control, and they went in, and I guess we have many people right now in jail. We very much quelled it, and if it starts again, we’ll quell it again very easily. It’s not hard to do, if you know what you’re doing,” he said before turning to Vice President Mike Pence.
This weekend, federal agents wounded protester Donovan Labella with a munition that hit him in the head around 10 p.m. Saturday. The 26-year-old underwent surgery and is now listed in serious condition, KOIN 6 News confirmed.
Oregon’s elected leaders — Gov. Kate Brown, Sen. Ron Wyden, Mayor Ted Wheeler and others — all denounced the actions of the federal officers and laid the blame on President Trump’s decision to deploy these officers to Portland.
In a Sunday statement, Wheeler said he spoke with US Attorney for Oregon Billy Williams and said the US Marshals service will conduct a thorough investigation.