No-nonsense Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents in Portland wheeled a protester away from a demonstration on a flatbed cart when he refused to walk himself.
The agency shared footage of the shock interaction after President Donald Trump noted the city is ‘burning to the ground’ as demonstrators take to the streets to rail against the administration.
In the video shared on Sunday, a protester wearing a black hoodie is face down on a metal cart, with his hands restrained behind his back and his feet leaning over the cart.
The cart is pushed by agents as the song ‘Ridin” by Chamillionaire plays, with the lyrics ‘they see me rollin’, they hatin’.’
‘Refuse to walk? We’ll give you a ride,’ the X post was captioned.
Within hours, more than three million people had seen the video.
Portland has been gripped by anti-ICE protests since Trump vowed to deploy the National Guard to deal with crime.
The move was temporarily blocked by a federal judge on Saturday following a lawsuit brought by the state and city.
No-nonsense Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents in Portland wheeled a protester away from a demonstration on a flatbed cart when he refused to walk himself
The agency shared footage of the shock interaction on social media, warning: ‘Refuse to walk? We’ll give you a ride’
President Donald Trump noted the city is ‘burning to the ground’ as demonstrators take to the streets to rail against the administration
Trump hit out after the judge’s ruling, insisting ‘Portland is burning to the ground.
‘It’s insurrectionists all over the place, it’s antifa. You’ve seen it — the place is burning down and they pretend like there’s nothing happening.’
According to California Governor Gavin Newsom, he skirted the ruling by deploying 300 federalized members of the California National Guard to Oregon on Saturday night and early Sunday to respond to protesters.
Newsom said his state intends to sue, describing the move as a ‘breathtaking abuse of power.’
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, made the temporary ruling and is awaiting further arguments.
She said the relatively small protests the city has seen did not justify the use of federalized forces and allowing the deployment could harm Oregon’s state sovereignty.
‘This country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs,’ Immergut wrote.
‘This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: this is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law.’
Portland has been gripped by anti-ICE protests since Trump vowed to deploy the National Guard to deal with crime
Protesters seen in the streets as tear gas is used to disperse the crowds at a protest on Saturday in Portland
The Trump administration has appealed.
State and city officials sued to stop the deployment last week, one day after the Trump administration announced that 200 Oregon National Guard troops would be federalized to protect federal buildings.
The president called the city ‘war-ravaged’, a characterization Oregon officials described as ludicrous.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in the city has been the site of nightly protests that typically drew a couple dozen people in recent weeks before the deployment was announced.
Generally speaking the president is allowed ‘a great level of deference’ to federalize National Guard troops in situations where regular law enforcement forces are not able to execute the laws of the United States, the judge said, but that has not been the case in Portland.
Plaintiffs were able to show that the demonstrations at the immigration building were not significantly violent or disruptive ahead of the president’s order, the judge wrote, and ‘overall, the protests were small and uneventful.’
Federal agents wore face masks and goggles as they dealt with protesters on Saturday in Portland
Demonstrators gathered outside a downtown Immigrations and Customs Enforcement facility on Saturday
Protesters were detained on the streets, but local authorities insist the matter could be dealt with without the National Guard
‘The President’s determination was simply untethered to the facts,’ Immergut wrote.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield called the ruling ‘a healthy check on the president.’
‘It reaffirms what we already knew: Portland is not the president’s war-torn fantasy. Our city is not ravaged, and there is no rebellion,’ Rayfield said in a statement. He added: ‘Members of the Oregon National Guard are not a tool for him to use in his political theater.’
