In June 2020, the Trump administration began deploying federal law enforcement forces to select cities in the United States in response to rioting and monument removals amid the George Floyd protests. Federal law enforcement elements were deployed under Operation Legend, Operation Diligent Valor, and the Protecting American Communities Task Force (PACT). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cited an executive order regarding "monuments, memorials and statues" as allowing federal officers to be deployed without the permission of individual U.S. states, as the federal government "has the right to enforce federal laws, investigate crimes and make arrests" within states.
On June 1, 2020, in Washington, D.C., federal law enforcement deployed riot control tactics and munitions against protesters to expand a security perimeter, which allowed for President Donald Trump to later walk from the White House to the historic St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square for a brief photo op. Days later, anonymous federal personnel in tactical and riot gear began to appear on D.C. streets, with many refusing to identify themselves. In July 2020, federal forces were deployed in Portland, Oregon as part of the PACT, where their use of unmarked cars and officers in camouflage without clear identification badges generated outrage. DHS officials defended the use of unmarked vehicles and unidentified officers in camouflage; acting DHS deputy secretary Ken Cuccinelli said "Unmarked police vehicles are so common it's barely worth discussion" and that officers wore the same uniforms and equipment each day, so demonstrators could nevertheless identify them.
Federal details were also deployed to Kansas City and Seattle. DHS had plans to send 150 agents to Chicago and President Trump had threatened future deployments to other cities "run by liberal Democrats," including Oakland, California and New York. According to a Government Accountability Office report released in September 2020 and based on self-reported data, tactical teams from 16 federal agencies were deployed to multiple cities in May and June alone, including Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, CA; Denver, CO; Washington, DC; Miami, FL; Detroit and Port Huron, MI; St. Louis, MO; Buffalo and New York City, NY; Dallas, El Paso, Houston, and Pearland, TX; and Seattle and Tacoma, WA.
The deployment was met with lawsuits, rebukes, and concerns over constitutionality. In May 2021, Trump's successor Joe Biden revoked the executive order that allowed for federal prosecution of individuals that vandalized federal monuments.
Aerial surveillance.
By June 19, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security had logged "at least 270 hours of surveillance" captured via airplanes, drones, and helicopters above demonstrations in 15 cities protesting police violence and the murder of George Floyd. Reportedly, some footage was sent in real time to Air and Marine Operations control centers and fed from there to the so-called "Big Pipe", a digital network enabling other federal agencies and local police to access it.
Congressional responses.
On June 5, 2020, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee wrote Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf, expressing concern about surveillance and intimidation via Predator drones and the anticipated use of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel, and asking for data on surveillance and deployment. On June 9, over 30 members of Congress also voiced concerns to FBI Director Wray, National Guard Bureau Chief General Lengyel, DEA Acting Administrator Shea, and CBP Acting Commissioner Morgan about the surveillance of protesters, demanding that they cease.
Founding of PACT.
On June 26, 2020, in response to a wave of monument and memorial removals across the country during the George Floyd protests, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13933, "Protecting American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues and Combating Recent Criminal Violence", announcing that the federal government would (1) prosecute anyone vandalizing or desecrating public monuments, memorials, and statues; government property; or religious property; (2) prosecute anyone inciting related violence; and (3) withhold federal support from local and state governments that failed to protect such structures from vandalism. The executive order also stated that if the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Administrator of General Services requested federal personnel "to assist with the protection of Federal monuments, memorials, statues, or property," they shall be provided by the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, and/or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The order was interpreted as allowing federal officers to be deployed without the permission of individual U.S. states.
The Department of Homeland Security created the "Protecting American Communities Task Force" (PACT) to coordinate its response, including assessing any potential unrest and deploying personnel to protect structures. Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf stated that the task force would not "...stand idly by while violent anarchists and rioters seek not only to vandalize and destroy the symbols of our nation, but to disrupt law and order and sow chaos in our communities." PACT would partner with the Justice Department and the Department of Interior to share information. Other departments that would potentially coordinate with the task force were the Federal Protective Service, U.S. Secret Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration.
According to an internal memo, the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis received authorization to engage in domestic surveillance to protect against "threats to damage or destroy any public monument, memorial, or statue".
Executive Order 13933 was revoked by President Joe Biden in May 2021.
Activities in Washington, D.C..
On June 1, 2020, amid the George Floyd protests in Washington, D.C., security forces deployed tear gas and other riot control tactics to forcefully clear Lafayette Square and surrounding streets of protesters to create a path for President Trump and senior administration officials to walk from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church for a photo op. Just before visiting the church, Trump delivered a speech urging state governors to quell violent protests by using the National Guard to "dominate the streets", or he would otherwise "deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem".
A number of law enforcement agencies were involved in the clearing operation, including personnel from the U.S. Park Police (USPP), U.S. Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Arlington County Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). D.C. National Guard Military Police were present but did not participate.
On June 3, armed and camouflaged individuals were seen patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C. wearing anti-riot gear. The individuals refused to identify themselves to journalists. A representative of the National Guard later identified the individuals as employees of the Bureau of Prisons.
Lawsuits and investigations.
Three days after the Lafayette Square clearing, a group of protesters and Black Lives Matter D.C., represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, filed a federal lawsuit against Trump and Attorney General William Barr, claiming they conspired to violate, and did violate, their constitutional rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Other officials, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secret Service Director James M. Murray, were also named as defendants.
A second lawsuit was filed by three protesters on June 11 against law enforcement and Trump administration officials asserting that the forced removal represented a "gross abuse of executive power" that violated their First, Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.
On June 22, Mark Greenblatt, Inspector General for the United States Department of the Interior, launched an investigation into the June 1 event following requests from several lawmakers. On July 23, Michael Horowitz, the Department of Justice Inspector General, announced that he was investigating the role of the Department of Justice and its law enforcement personnel in responding to protests in Washington during the previous two months, "examining the training and instruction that was provided to the DOJ law enforcement personnel; compliance with applicable identification requirements, rules of engagement, and legal authorities; and adherence to DOJ policies regarding the use of less-lethal munitions, chemical agents, and other uses of force.” He added that he would coordinate with Inspector General Greenblatt's office on the Lafayette Square investigation.
Reactions.
The clearing of demonstrators from Lafayette Square was widely condemned as excessive and an affront to the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly by religious leaders and former military leaders, among others. D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine referred to Trump's actions as that of a "tyrannical president".
Following the event, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement, reading in part, "at a time when our country cries out for unification, this President is ripping it apart."
Activities in Portland, Oregon.
At the start of July, forces from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. Marshal Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Federal Protection Service arrived in Portland, appearing at the U.S. courthouse, where they fired pepper spray or tear gas at protesters who got too close to the building. According to an article published by the Washington Post, some White House officials claimed that Trump became interested in federal operations against the protesters as a means of underscoring his law-and-order message, with the sources accusing the White House of wanting "to amplify strife in cities," and positing that the deployment was "about getting viral online content." The DHS referred to its deployment in Portland as "Operation Diligent Valor".
Protester Donavan La Bella was shot in the head with a projectile fired by federal agents in Portland on July 11. He suffered facial injuries and skull fractures, requiring reconstructive surgery. On the same day, a man hit a federal agent in the head and shoulder with a hammer and was arrested.
In the early hours of July 15, protester Mark Pettibone was walking home from a protest in Portland when an unmarked minivan stopped. A friend who had been walking with him recorded on videotape as multiple armed individuals clad in camouflage jumped out of the van; they apprehended Pettibone without identifying themselves or stating a reason for their actions. According to Pettibone, the camouflage-clad individuals placed him in the unmarked van and blindfolded him using his own beanie hat. Pettibone says the van then drove around in the city and took him to a building that he later learned after his release was the federal courthouse. There he was photographed, searched, placed in a cell, and Mirandized. Pettibone declined questioning and invoked his right to an attorney; he was released about 90 minutes later. He said he was not given any written record of his arrest or citation for any alleged crime. The U.S. Marshals Service issued a statement denying their agency was involved in Pettibone's apprehension, but U.S. Customs and Border Protection later acknowledged that its agents were involved.
On July 15, video was recorded showing several unidentified armed individuals wearing camouflage fatigues physically apprehending another demonstrator and taking him away in an unmarked van. On July 18, the "Portland Tribune" filmed federal agents as they repeatedly struck and pepper sprayed a protester while he stood "as solidly as a rock". Chris David, a 54-year-old graduate of the United States Naval Academy and former Navy officer clad in Navy apparel, was a newcomer to the protest, reportedly drawn by recent stories of "kidnappings" by militarized federal agents. According to David, he approached federal agents and asked them how their actions squared with their oath to the Constitution. At that point, he was struck five times by double-handed blows from clubs, causing multiple broken bones and requiring surgery.
On July 21 Richard Cline, deputy director of the Federal Protective Service, told reporters that three officers had suffered eye injuries when protesters deliberately aimed lasers at their eyes, and that the officers "may not recover sight in those eyes". The report was later repeated by White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, blaming "so-called peaceful protesters". Contradicting McEnany's claims of permanent blindness, Acting Deputy Secretary Cuccinelli later testified that all officers recovered full vision within hours or days.
On July 22, Portland mayor Ted Wheeler traveled to the protest site to address the assembled crowds and engage in a "listening session". Wheeler's session was interrupted when he was tear gassed by federal agents.
On July 27, the Trump administration announced that additional federal agents would be sent to reinforce the Portland Courthouse. However, under a deal worked out between Governor Kate Brown and the Trump administration, federal agents withdrew to standby locations on July 30, while state and local law enforcement