patrick.net

The comparisons to stormtroopers are a disgrace.

We live in an age of viral videos that often can be deceiving.

That’s certainly the case in Portland, where the hyperbolic charges of federal stormtroopers hunting down peaceful protesters first began based on videos that didn’t tell the whole story. Now that Department of Homeland Security officials have explained the operation, there’s no excuse for the continued Nazi references — not that there ever really was.

The DHS deployment in Portland is plainly legal, justified, and proportionate.

There are no random arrests, and as of Tuesday, there had only been about 40 arrests total since the beefed-up presence began around July 4 weekend, when there was intelligence — that turned out to be correct — of the prospect of escalating attacks on the federal courthouse.

The officers are operating under clear legal authority. 40 U.S. Code § 1315 says that the DHS secretary “shall protect the buildings, grounds, and property that are owned, occupied, or secured by the Federal Government (including any agency, instrumentality, or wholly owned or mixed-ownership corporation thereof) and the persons on the property.”