President Donald Trump said Saturday that federal law enforcement will not respond to protests or riots in “poorly run Democrat Cities” until support is requested, but will still protect federal property.
“I have instructed Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, that under no circumstances are we going to participate in various poorly run Democrat Cities with regard to their Protests and/or Riots unless, and until, they ask us for help,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“We will, however, guard, and very powerfully so, any and all Federal Buildings that are being attacked by these highly paid Lunatics, Agitators, and Insurrectionists,” the post continued.
The president’s statement comes just hours after a federal judge declined to immediately halt Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis, allowing the sweeping federal immigration enforcement action there to continue.
Trump said local governments are responsible for protecting state, local and federal property, writing that “we are there to protect Federal Property, only as a back up, in that it is Local and State Responsibility to do so.”
“There will be no spitting in the faces of our Officers, there will be no punching or kicking the headlights of our cars, and there will be no rock or brick throwing at our vehicles, or at our Patriot Warriors,” Trump said.
The post comes after local police said a riot was declared at the federal building in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday night and that “there were breaches in entry points.” Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner said his officers intervened with the intent of de-escalating after protesters broke windows and tried to breach the building.
He said in a video statement posted to social media that there was a report that someone or multiple people had made it inside but could not confirm that.
Trump referenced the incident in his post, writing, “Last night in Eugene, Oregon, these criminals broke into a Federal Building, and did great damage, also scaring and harassing the hardworking employees.”
“Local Police did nothing in order to stop it. We will not let that happen anymore!” the president continued. “If Local Governments are unable to handle the Insurrectionists, Agitators, and Anarchists, we will immediately go to the location where such help is requested, and take care of the situation very easily and methodically.”
Skinner said the federal building had few resources and Eugene police moved to create a barrier between protesters and the building to prevent entry. He said police left after more federal resources arrived on the scene.
Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act earlier this month as tensions rose between protesters and federal authorities in the wake of Renee Good’s death.
“Remember that I stated, in the strongest of language, to BEWARE — ICE, Border Patrol or, if necessary, our Military, will be extremely powerful and tough in the protection of our Federal Property,” the president wrote in his post on Saturday.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she has discussed the possibility of using the Insurrection Act with Trump, repeatedly telling reporters this month that it is not off the table.
“He certainly has the constitutional authority to utilize that,” Noem told reporters outside the White House on Jan. 15.
President George H.W. Bush was the last to use the Insurrection Act, during the deadly 1992 Los Angeles riots, following a request from the city’s Democratic mayor and the state’s Republican governor.
Invoking the Insurrection Act would give the military more freedom to perform law enforcement duties, such as conducting searches and making arrests.
Trump deployed the National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles during widespread protests in June, but officers were assigned a more limited role, focused on protecting federal buildings and activities.
A federal judge in California found they actually did more than that in a September ruling, writing they violated the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which prohibits the president from using the military as a domestic police force without approval from Congress, except under special circumstances — such as an invocation of the Insurrection Act.
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