Dear Friend,
The Washington Post is reporting that the Trump administration is sending
an additional 100 secret police agents to Portland.^1
Trump's secret police have been caught snatching peaceful demonstrators
off the street, pepper-spraying reporters, beating veterans, and
tear-gassing a "wall of moms" gathered to protect protestors from violent
federal agents.^2,3,4
Congress MUST step in before one of Trump's paramilitary thugs kills
someone or worse, and progressives are pushing for a vote to defund
Trump's secret police this week.
The annual funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security is
scheduled to be debated this week, and the Congressional Progressive
Caucus is calling on Democratic leaders to pull the bill from the floor
unless provisions are added forcing Trump's secret police to get out of
Portland and stay out of any other cities.^5 We've organized more than
60,000 letters calling on Congress to stop Trump's slide into
authoritarianism. Now we must turn up the heat even more.
[ [link removed] ]Will you donate to help mobilize grassroots action calling on Congress
to shut down Trump's secret police and end this outrageous abuse of power?
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Since Trump sent his Department of Homeland Security secret police to
Portland, conflicts have only escalated. A U.S. Navy veteran was beaten
and left with a broken hand. A protestor was hit in the head with a "less
lethal" munition, causing serious injury. Now reports are that Trump is
gearing up to send troops to cities, including Austin, Seattle, Chicago,
Philadelphia, and Detroit.^6,7
Make no mistake: Trump knew exactly what he was doing by sending heavily
armed paramilitary soldiers to battle with American citizens and others
exercising their First Amendment rights. He wasn't protecting federal
property. He was looking to create chaos in the streets to save his
floundering reelection. He's hoping to see police riots similar to the
1968 Democratic National Convention, when demonstrators were brutally
beaten by police, boosting Richard Nixon's "law and order" message.
If Congress doesn't step in, who knows where this ends. Trump doesn't want
peace. He wants a spectacle of violence, and by sending in armed troops to
attack Americans, he's guaranteeing it.
[ [link removed] ]We have to stop Trump's slide into authoritarianism. Will you rush an
emergency donation to help stop Trump's secret police?
For our democracy,
Robert Cruickshank,
Demand Progress
[ [link removed] ]DONATE
Sources:
1. The Washington Post, "More federal agents dispatched to Portland as
protests rise in other cities," [ [link removed] ]July 27, 2020
2. The Guardian, "Teargassed, beaten up, arrested: what freedom of the
press looks like in the US right now," [ [link removed] ]June 6, 2020
3. The Washington Post, "'What choice do we have?': Portland's 'Wall of
Moms' faces off with federal officers at tense protests," [ [link removed] ]July 22,
2020
4. The New York Times, "A Navy Veteran Had a Question for the Feds in
Portland. They Beat Him in Response." [ [link removed] ]July 22, 2020
5. The Hill, "Progressive Caucus leaders demand Democrats pull homeland
security bill," [ [link removed] ]July 22, 2020
6. Talking Points Memo, "WaPo: More Feds On The Way To Portland," [ [link removed] ]July
27, 2020
7. The New York Times, "Trump Threatens to Send Federal Law Enforcement
Forces to More Cities," [ [link removed] ]July 24, 2020
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