OPB’s First Look: The next steps in Trump’s troop deployment

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Good morning, Northwest.

Portland and the president continued to trade barbs in letters, legal filings and press statements yesterday.

The Trump administration is trying to send troops to Portland to protect the local ICE facility, but a federal judge has temporarily blocked it from doing so. The administration has appealed that ruling, and a decision could come swiftly.

Meanwhile, Portland city attorneys said in a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice yesterday that federal officers already on the ground in the city are violating protesters’ constitutional rights.

We start this morning with the latest developments in this story. Plus, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek joins "Think Out Loud" today at noon.

Here’s your First Look at Tuesday’s news.

—Bradley W. Parks

Portland accuses federal officers of violating demonstrators’ constitutional rights

Portland’s top attorney lambasted the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division yesterday in a letter accusing the department of turning a blind eye to federal officers’ heavy-handed response to protests.

“We appear to be witnessing the federal government engaging in unconstitutional uses of force in violation of the Fourth Amendment against otherwise peaceful demonstrators exercising their First Amendment rights,” wrote City Attorney Robert Taylor.

Taylor’s letter is a response to a DOJ investigation announced Friday into the Portland Police Bureau and the city for its treatment of right-wing media figures at recent protests outside the city’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

In the letter announcing that investigation, U.S. civil rights attorneys accused the city of policing “in a manner that may be based on viewpoint discrimination.” Taylor used the same phrasing in his response.

“It appears the federal government is engaging in prohibited viewpoint discrimination by targeting demonstrators based on the content of their speech, while favoring those with whom the federal government agrees,” he wrote. (Alex Zielinski)

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3 things to know this morning

• In response to the 1930s Dust Bowl that stripped topsoil from several states, the government created soil conservation districts across the country. Multnomah County is now largely urbanized and home to about 800,000 people. Does it still need a conservation district? (Kristian Foden-Vencil)
• The next twist in the whipsawing drama over whether President Trump can send National Guard troops into Portland will center on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The result could come quickly, if a similar case that played out in California this year is an indication. (Dirk VanderHart)
• Multnomah County prosecutors declined to charge conservative influencer Nick Sortor, who was arrested Thursday at a protest outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland. (Amanda Linares)

Headlines from around the Northwest

• Oregon to accelerate siting of renewable energy projects to beat Trump’s incentive deadline (Monica Samayoa)
• The Trump administration might shut down the University of Washington’s Primate Research Center. Should it? (Scott Greenstone)
• Federal judge declines to immediately block National Guard deployment in Illinois (Joe Hernandez)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek on President Trump’s attempts to deploy National Guard to Portland 
• Portland cartoonist Tom Toro debuts new collection of New Yorker cartoons

🦎 Collecting newts in America’s deepest lake

Ever wonder what it’s like to float in America’s deepest lake? When Crater Lake science tech Jaden Bellamy takes a break from collecting Mazama newt specimens, she explores the lake’s blue depths. (Cameron Nielsen, Jule Gilfillan)

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Subscribe to OPB’s First Look to receive Northwest news in your inbox six days a week.