Federal Court to Decide on National Guard Deployment in Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal appeals court is expected to rule soon on the deployment of National Guard troops in Portland. The issue arose after a federal judge temporarily blocked the deployment, prompting the Trump administration to appeal the decision.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard the case following the judge’s ruling last weekend. The panel of judges has allowed the 200 Oregon National Guard members to remain federalized, but they cannot deploy until the court makes a decision.

The situation led to protests outside the Portland ICE facility. A group of around 500 demonstrators gathered, which included a counterprotest group of about 20 people supporting the federal agents.

At 5 p.m., federal agents inflicted the crowd with pepper balls and detained two individuals. Earlier, police announced two arrests during the protests that occurred the night before.

32-year-old Harold Alston Smith of Portland was arrested for fourth-degree assault against 33-year-old Brian Wesley Crowell-Drogt of Beaverton. Crowell-Drogt was hospitalized before he was also arrested on the same charge. Smith faces additional charges of harassment.

As the city awaits a decision from the court, both sides remain tense about the situation regarding the National Guard in Portland.