White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday addressed the incident in Portland, Oregon, where Republican journalist Nick Sortor was swarmed and attacked by Antifa thugs, then arrested by Portland police.
The Gateway Pundit reported on the incident, which is now under investigation by the Department of Justice.
“Portland: it’s FO [Find Out] time. Buckle up,” Assistant Attorney Harmeet Dhillon, who will lead the investigation, said in an X post.
Leavitt announced to reporters on Friday that not only has the Portland Police Department come into the DOJ’s crosshairs, but President Trump is now taking steps to cut federal aid to the city, citing the lawlessness in the streets.
“Since June alone,” she said, “radical left-wing lunatics have violently breached the ICE facility by using a stop sign as a battering ram, hurled explosives and other projectiles at law enforcement, repeatedly assault and dox officers, berate their law-abiding neighbors, and have even rolled out a guillotine in front of the ICE facility.”
In addition to cutting funding, “there will also be an additional surge of federal resources to Portland immediately, including enhanced CBP and ICE resources. Law and order will prevail, and President Trump will make sure of it,” Leavitt said.
WATCH:
Leavitt: Despite the Democrat shutdown, President Trump’s efforts to make America safe again continue. President Trump believes that American cities should be the safest places on earth, and he is committed to making this a reality. We’ve already seen that President Trump successfully made DC safe again in only a few weeks. That same crime crackdown will continue to happen in cities across the country, and is happening in Portland, Oregon. President Trump will end the radical left’s Reign of Terror in Portland once and for all.
The President has directed Secretary Hegseth to provide all necessary troops to protect war-ravaged Portland and any ICE facilities under siege from attack by Antifa and other leftwing domestic terrorists. What’e been allowed to happen in Portland, and we saw disturbing video footage of this last night, this is not peaceful protesting. This is left wing anarchy that has been destroying this great American city for years, leaving police officers battered, citizens terrorized, and business properties damaged.
Since early June alone, Antifa terrorists have laid siege to the ICE field office in South Portland. These radical left wing lunatics have violently breached the ICE facility by using a stop sign as a battering ram, hurled explosives and other projectiles at law enforcement, repeatedly assault and dox officers, berate their law abiding neighbors, and have even rolled out a guillotine in front of the ICE facility. And more people should be reporting on that. President Trump has sent federal law enforcement to protect federal assets and arrest those fueling this violence.
Just last night, we saw an extremely troubling incident, where conservative journalist Nick sorter was captured on video being taken into custody by the Portland Police after he was ambushed by Antifa and was defending himself from these assaults. But instead of arresting these violent mob members, night after night after night, who are ravaging this community, the police arrested a journalist who was there trying to document the chaos, and everyone in this room should be extremely concerned about that.
The Department of Justice spoke with that journalist this morning, and they will be launching a full investigation into his arrest. This incident is part of a troubling trend in Portland, where left wing mobs believe they get to decide who can visit and live in their city. It is not their city, it is the American people’s city, and President Trump is going to restore that. I just spoke with the President about this, and he has directed his team here at the White House to begin reviewing aid that can potentially be cut in Portland. We will not fund states that allow anarchy. There will also be an additional surge of federal resources to Portland immediately, including enhanced CBP and ICE resources. Law and Order will prevail, and President Trump will make sure of it.
Afterward, Leavitt confirmed to Just The News White House Correspondent Amanda Head that the Trump Administration will also be working to ensure that local police are no longer hamstrung by leadership and prevented from taking action against Antifa.
“Local police has been restricted from responding or cooperating at all with federal authorities,” Leavitt said she has been told by the Department of Homeland Security task force overseeing operations in Portland.
“We think it’s despicable that these local elected officials who swear an oath to protect their people are preventing law enforcement from doing their jobs on the ground. So, that’s why the President has directed his team here at the White House, and they are already on it, to look at how we can cut funds.”
WATCH:
Head: Reportedly, Portland Police have not been able to engage protesters to the degree that they normally would. Does the President plan on handling this from that angle as well with city leaders?
Leavitt: Yes, from our understanding, the law enforcement that we have here in the Homeland Security Task Force, I spoke with them this morning, and what they’re seeing is that, unfortunately, local police have been restricted from responding or cooperating at all with federal authorities, which is completely absurd. We have surged federal law enforcement personnel to this city to restore law and order and to work alongside local law enforcement, and we’ve seen the benefits of this in Washington, DC. And all of you live here, so you can agree Washington, DC, is and feels much safer because of the cooperation between federal and local law enforcement. They can and must be working together. And we think it’s despicable that these local elected officials who swear an oath to protect their people are preventing law enforcement from doing their jobs on the ground. So, that’s why the President has directed his team here at the White House, and they are already on it, to look at how we can cut funds. And the President wants to work with anyone. If the mayor of Portland were to call him right now and say, “Mr. President, please help us.” I am sure the President would be willing to do that. He is genuinely serious about wanting to restore order in America’s cities, but it’s become apparent that the local and elected officials in Oregon do not feel the same, and that’s very unfortunate for the people who live there.
The post FAFO: Karoline Leavitt says President Trump is Planning to Cut Federal Funding to Portland Amid Violence From “Leftwing Domestic Terrorists” – “We Will Not Fund States That Allow Anarchy” (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.