This is not just empty talk, because the military and police of the U.S. federal government have begun to appear in U.S. states and have begun to arrest and even injured protesters, which has caused strong concerns among U.S. federal agencies to crack down on U.S. citizens.

After a massive demolition of historical sculptures occurred in the U.S. protests, U.S. President Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to send personnel to protect monuments, statues and federal property in ongoing protests against racism and police brutality. This is not just empty talk, because the military and police of the U.S. federal government have begun to appear in U.S. states and have begun to arrest and even injured protesters, which has caused strong concerns among U.S. federal agencies to crack down on U.S. citizens.

After Trump signing the executive order, U.S. Department of Homeland Security immediately established a "Quick Deployment Team". These people are composed of officials from the Customs and Border Protection Agency, Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard , and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau, who specifically support the Federal Protection Agency responsible for protecting federal property. The first deployments were Portland, Oregon, which raised questions about the legal authority that homeland security officials must crack down on citizens.

Video shows that federal agents used rubber bullets and tear gas to protesters and pulled people away from the street at will. A 26-year-old journalist Donavwan Labera was still hit in the head by a federal agent's rubber bullet while raising her hands to signal that she was not aggressive. Mark Pettyburn, 29, revealed that agents in camouflage uniforms but without any badges forced him to get into a van without a sign, and did not tell him why he was arrested. This was criticized by some American media as a bad behavior similar to the German Gestapo in World War II.

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden wrote on Twitter: "A peaceful protester in Portland was hit in the head by a secret policeman of Donald Trump. Now Trump and Chad Wolf are weaponizing DHS as their own occupation forces, provoking violence in the streets of my hometown because they think it works well with the right-wing media." Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley wrote: "Federal agents shot and shot an unarmed resistance. The face of the congressman. These shadow troops have been escalating violence, not stopping it. "

Interim executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Oregon, said Jenn Carson, "What's going on in Portland now should be about everyone in the United States. Usually, when we see people sitting in cars without signs forcibly arresting people on the streets, we call it kidnapping. The kidnapping of militarized federal officials is outright unconstitutional ." Some organizations in the state have also sued the Department of Homeland Security for indiscriminate use of tear gas, rubber bullets and acoustic weapons. But Washington officials said they have clear powers to send agents to Portland. Under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Section 1315 gives the department's secretary the authority to act on other federal agents to assist the Federal Protection Agency in protecting federal property, such as the Court in Portland. The agents can carry guns, arrest those charged with crime without a warrant, and “invest the problematic property.” The Department of Homeland has listed dozens of incidents that have devastated federal property in Portland.

Generally speaking, the Department of Homeland Security will usually send agents to assist in local destruction of federal property only if the state or city government seeks help and entrusts responsibility. But Oregon political leaders did not ask the Department of Homeland Security to send people. On the contrary, Governor Brown and the Portland chief both accused Trump of signing orders to send federal agents to interfere with demonstrations and riots in Portland, essentially a political stunt to unite his foundation before the November election, repeatedly calling on federal agents to withdraw and get out of their city.

Brown said: "This political drama of Trump has nothing to do with public safety. He failed to lead the country. Now he is deploying federal officials to patrol the streets of Portland, which is a blatant abuse of power by the federal government." Brown said the goal appears to be "finding confrontations in Oregon, hoping to win political points in Ohio or Iowa."In fact, Trump's tough response to the protests could win the support of his supporters, however, in the average poll, Trump continues to lag behind Democratic candidate Joe Biden .

But the Trump administration still insists on maintaining law enforcement in Portland. In an interview, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, also admitted that local and state officials want federal authorities to "pack up and go home." However, he also said: "Under my supervision, this will not happen." Instead, he said federal law enforcement, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection officials and agents, will continue patrolling the streets of Portland.

But without any consent from local officials only means that federal agents cannot rely on state and local laws to justify the arrest, but federal agents can still detain them if the officials find reasonable reasons for demonstrators to violate federal crimes. Peter Vincent, former chief attorney for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said: The Department of Homeland Security has a wide range of powers, and as long as it involves national security, public safety, human trafficking and street crime gang conspiracy, they can find federal laws that have the power to enforce in various fields.