White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House on Friday that an “immediate” federal law enforcement surge has been ordered by President Donald Trump to Portland, Oregon.
The president, she said, has seen enough. “President Trump will end the radical left’s reign of terror in Portland once and for all.”
Additionally, Leavitt warned that Portland may be cut off from at least some forms of federal funding. She said Trump has “directed his team here at the White House to begin reviewing aid that can potentially be cut in Portland. We will not fund states that allow anarchy.”
Leavitt described that the immediate actions involve the Pentagon. “The president has directed [War] Secretary [Pete] Hegseth to provide all necessary troops to protect war-ravaged Portland and any ICE facilities under siege from attack by antifa and other left-wing domestic terrorists,” Leavitt said.
She said overnight events in Portland proved the city is not defending itself from attack. “What’s been allowed to happen in Portland [is unacceptable] — and we saw disturbing video footage of this last night.”
Leavitt said the problem is, this is not new. “This is not peaceful protesting,” she said. “This is left-wing anarchy that has been destroying this great American city for years, leaving police officers battered, citizens terrorized, and business properties damaged.
She singled out antifa protesters in her comments. “Since early June alone, antifa terrorists have laid siege to the ICE field office in South Portland,” Leavitt said.
Visibly shaken, the press secretary said it is hard to accept what is happening in Portland as something happening on American soil. “These radical left-wing lunatics have violently breached the ICE facility by using a stop sign as a battering ram, hurled explosives and other projectiles at law enforcement, repeatedly assault and dox officers, berate their law-abiding neighbors, and have even rolled out a guillotine in front of the ICE facility,” she said.
Leavitt said the protesters will learn Portland is an American city, not an antifa city. “This incident is part of a troubling trend in Portland where left-wing mobs believe they get to decide who can visit and live in their city. It is not their city. It is the American people’s city, and President Trump is going to restore that,” Leavitt said.
In cities like Memphis, Tennessee, where federal personnel just ramped up enforcement this week, Attorney General Pam Bondi reported that five missing children were recovered in addition to more than 150 criminal arrests, and dozens of illegal weapons have been confiscated.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
