I noted that his July 16 news release, Acting Secretary Wolf Condemns The Rampant Long-Lasting Violence In Portland was the precursor to taking the actions he did. Read the piece. I counted 64 times he used the term "violent anarchists." Even his news release is not "normal" by any sense of the word.
Let me be clear -- the anarchists in Portland are a bunch of thugs who call themselves "anarchists." They were the real troublemakers who came to Seattle for the 1999 WTO riots that I was involved in the response to. They have been around a long time and have for other events, like May Day, traveled north to Seattle to cause havoc and mix in with otherwise peaceful demonstrators. They are the black-clad, black-hooded hoodlums who are causing the majority of trouble in Portland. I'm also thinking that these are the kids of the anarchists who came to Seattle in 1999.
With the coronavirus raging in parts of the United States the actions by the DHS Secretary reek of the deflection tactics of the president to cause attention to be drawn away from a controversy elsewhere. In this he has found a willing accomplice in the form of Chad Wolf, who the Washington Post editorial board described today:
"Administration officials say they have deployed personnel to Portland from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, both overseen by an unconfirmed acting secretary of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf. Mr. Wolf is a political operative who worked for Republican senators and as a lobbyist; his brief previous policy roles in government afforded him minimal experience in law enforcement — and it shows." Highly qualified to be the secretary of Homeland Security. History is watching Acting Secretary Wolf!
I believe the federal government and its agencies have the right to protect federal property. It does not give them the right to "leave federal property" and chase people in the streets and bundle them into cars being taken to ... who knows where?
