President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he had authorized the use of deadly force against far-left groups accused of repeatedly attacking federal facilities and agents in Portland, Oregon.

The decision follows weeks of violent demonstrations in the city and comes one day after the president signed an executive order targeting left-wing terrorist networks nationwide.

Portland has remained a central location for organized far-left activity since the president returned to the White House in January.

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In recent weeks, federal agents have reported escalating assaults on government buildings, including facilities tied to immigration enforcement.

On Saturday morning, President Trump confirmed that he had directed War Secretary Pete Hegseth to deploy military forces to the city at the request of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The announcement was made in a post on Trump’s Truth Social account.

“At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists,” Trump wrote.

“I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

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Footage recorded by journalist Katie Daviscourt shows organized groups attacking federal property in Portland in recent days.

BREAKING: I went behind the scenes at the ICE facility in Portland with the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service (@FPSDHS).

As anti-ICE protesters lay siege to the ICE facility for more than 90 consecutive days, here’s an inside look at the officers who… pic.twitter.com/Uy5pe4jJ5D

— Katie Daviscourt (@KatieDaviscourt) September 11, 2025

Officials have cited the attacks as evidence of a sustained campaign against government institutions by far-left groups.

Antifa, short for “antifascist,” has been linked to numerous acts of violence in the Pacific Northwest over the last several years.

Members often operate under a black-bloc style, wearing similar clothing and carrying flags while engaging in confrontations with law enforcement and political opponents.

The group became widely known during the unrest of 2020 and 2021. In Portland, dozens of individuals were arrested for attempting to set fire to federal courthouses and other government buildings during the Black Lives Matter riots.

In August 2020, a self-identified Antifa supporter shot and killed a Trump supporter in downtown Portland.

Members of the group were also charged with arson and other violent crimes during the peak of protests.

Antifa was heavily involved in the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or “CHAZ,” that was set up in Seattle in 2020.

The zone, which was declared an autonomous area free from government control, ended after two people were killed and several others were injured in shootings.

Local activists, including Antifa members, claimed to act as security for the area while openly carrying weapons.

Journalist Andy Ngo has extensively documented Antifa’s activities, particularly in Portland.

In 2019, Ngo was hospitalized with a brain bleed after being attacked by masked Antifa members while covering one of their demonstrations.

President Trump’s directive to Hegseth expands on an earlier deployment of federal forces to California, where military assets have been tasked with securing federal facilities and supporting immigration enforcement operations.

Those deployments began in response to weeks of rioting and have continued under the authority of the War Department.

The administration has not yet disclosed the exact number of troops being sent to Portland, but officials confirmed the deployment is intended to safeguard federal personnel and facilities from ongoing threats.

Federal officials also said the authorization of deadly force is a precautionary measure in the event of further escalation.

 

The deployment represents one of the strongest measures taken by the administration to counter violent demonstrations against federal government operations.

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