De Blasio threatens legal action if Trump sends federal officers
De Blasio and Cuomo warn Trump
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that what federal agents are doing in Portland is unconstitutional. He warned that New York will sue the Trump administration if it tries to do something similar here. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he told the president that the state doesn't need the feds to get involved in local law enforcement issues.
NEW YORK - President Donald Trump's threat to send federal law enforcers to patrol the city is likely not serious but if he did follow through, New York City would take legal action, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.
“I have to start by saying this president blusters and bluffs and says he’s going to do things and they never materialize on a regular basis,” de Blasio said.
State and local authorities in Oregon have charged in a lawsuit that masked federal officers have arrested people in Portland with no probable cause and whisked them away in unmarked cars. Trump defended the actions of the federal officers in Portland on Monday and said he would send officers to other cities including New York as well.
De Blasio said that if Trump did send federal officers to New York City, “it would only create more problems. It would backfire, it wouldn’t make us safer, and we would immediately take action in court to stop it."
The Democratic mayor added, "From my point of view this would be yet another example of illegal and unconstitutional actions by the president. And we have often had to confront him in court and we usually win. "
PORTLAND, OR - JULY 17: Federal officers prepare to disperse the crowd of protestors outside the Multnomah County Justice Center on July 17, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. ((Photo by Mason Trinca/Getty Images))
In Portland, demonstrators who have been on the streets for weeks have found renewed focus in clashes with camouflaged, unidentified agents outside the city's U.S. courthouse. Protesters crowded in front of the courthouse and the Justice Center late Monday night, before authorities cleared them out as the loud sound and light of flash bang grenades filled the sky.