Oregon local and state police have taken the place of federal agents guarding a federal courthouse in Portland.
On Wednesday, the federal government and Oregon's government made a deal to reduce the number of U.S. agents on the ground.
The federal agents reportedly left the area Thursday. But President Donald Trump warned at a press conference later that day that Oregon officers have 48 hours to "clean out this beehive of terrorists" or he'll send in the National Guard.
He said, "And we're telling right now these protesters and many should be arrested because these are professional agitators, these are professional anarchists. These are people that hate our country. We're telling them right now that we're coming in very soon. The National Guard, a lot of people, a lot of very tough people. And these are not people that just have to guard the courthouse and save it. These are people that are allowed to go forward and do what they have to do."
Hundreds of protesters peacefully gathered in downtown Portland again Thursday night, calling for an end to systemic racism and chanting "Black Lives Matter." The crowd dispersed on its own early Friday withno major altercations. Nightly protests over racial injustice and police brutality in Portland began in late May after the death of George Floyd. President Trump deployed federal law enforcement officers to the area in early July as more and more protests turned violent, but that only inflamed tensions further.
