Portland protesters hit with tear gas and snatched into unmarked vans as federal officers crack down

Six weeks of protests sparked by George Floyd's killing have drawn the Trump administration's ire

Officers pull a protester in to the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon (AP)

Federal law enforcement officers sent to quell demonstrations in Portland, Oregon last night used tear gas on hundreds of protesters at the city’s federal courthouse.

It comes amid an escalating row with the federal government over the need to impose “law and order” on the streets, with the city’s mayor at odds with the Department of Homeland Security.

The demonstrations that began after the killing of George Floyd have continued in Portland for more than six weeks, with clashes between protesters and law enforcement sometimes erupting into violence and damage to property. Federal forces have now been sent in to shut the protests down – sometimes with violent consequences.

Last Saturday, 26-year-old protester Donavan LaBella was shot in the face by federal officers using so-called “less lethal” munitions – which the local police are currently barred from deploying against non-violent protesters. The incident, captured on graphic video by bystanders, left Mr LaBella in hospital with a fractured skull.

Meanwhile, according to local news investigations and videos distributed on social media, federal officers have for several days been picking protesters up then detaining them without explanation or charge. One clip widely shared on Twitter shows two officers in camouflage uniform and helmets walking silently up to a protester and walking him to a black SUV, apparently without explanation.

Portland mayor Ted Wheeler has said that he did not request help from federal forces and that they have been asked to leave, but as the protests continue, there is increasing pressure from the federal government to restore order to the streets.

The same day that tear gas was used on the hundreds-strong crowd at the courthouse, homeland security chief Chad Wolf visited the city, issuing a long statement in which he cast the long-running demonstrations as a violent “siege” and raged that local and state authorities have “emboldened the violent mob as it escalates violence day after day”.

The statement also offered a long list of incidents at and around the courthouse, blaming them on “violent anarchists” no fewer than 72 times.

Mr Wolf’s statement tallies with weeks of complaints from Donald Trump about the protests on the streets of American cities, with the president repeatedly threatening to send in troops if mayors and police departments cannot impose order.