Fox’s Napolitano Rips Feds For Sending Troops Into Portland: ‘Not Only Unlawful and Unconstitutional, It’s Just Plain Wrong’
Fox News judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano ripped the federal government for deploying troops without the coordination of local authorities to combat protests in Portland, OR.
Napolitano called the move from President Donald Trump’s guidance “unconstitutional” and “plain wrong” on Fox News Monday afternoon.
“Here, you have locals who look to Antifa and Antifa supporters for political support,” Napolitano said. “The local authorities, Mayor [Ted] Wheeler, is not going to let the police do what they want to do. You have a vice here. You have anarchy on one hand. If the troops come in the streets, you have a potential for even more violence on the other hand.”
“What happened in Portland over the weekend, it was not only unlawful and unconstitutional, it’s just plain wrong,” Napolitano continued. “Sending armed, untrained police into the streets wearing fatigues without the knowledge or consent of the local police actually caused more violence. All the people that they arrested, they didn’t file one criminal complaint.”
Leaked documents from the Department of Homeland Security also warned that the federal agents did not have proper training before taking a militarized approach to riot control amid growing protests in the city. The badgeless federal officers forced protesters into unmarked vans and failed to identify themselves. As a result, the state sued DHS for the “unlawful detentions” on Sunday.
“You have a lot of peaceful demonstrators,” Napolitano continued. “The complaint filed by the Attorney General of Oregon against the Department of Homeland Security recounts horror stories of peaceful people being kidnapped, held blindfold, handcuffed, and incommunicado for just two hours and then let go. There is no reason to disturb those people. The people they should stop are the ones with the baseball bats.”
“The federal government can’t do what it doesn’t have the authority to do,” he added. “And it shouldn’t do anything without the coordination of the locals.”
