White House Responds With 'Authoritarian Propaganda' as Judge Blocks National Guard in Portland

Top Trump administration adviser Stephen Miller was accused of spreading dangerous "propaganda" Saturday night regarding the federal judge who ruled that the White House could not deploy 200 National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon.

The White House deputy chief of staff accused US District Judge Karin Immergut, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, of "legal insurrection" after she found that the president's claims about violent protests at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland were "untethered to facts," and that residents' expressions of opposition to ICE do not meet the high legal standard for calling the National Guard.

Miller claimed authorities in Oregon and Portland are aiding "an organized terrorist attack on the federal government and its officers" by refusing to aid ICE agents, and claimed Immergut was attempting to assume the role of "commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces" by siding with state officials and issuing a temporary restraining order blocking the National Guard deployment, which was expected to begin this weekend.

Immergut said the state had provided “substantial evidence that the protests at the Portland ICE facility were not significantly violent or disruptive in the days—or even weeks—leading up to the president’s directive.”

Portland residents who oppose Trump's mass deportation agenda began holding nightly demonstrations at the ICE facility over the summer, with some trying to block vehicles from entering and exiting the property. Crowds have dispersed quickly during the daytime, while at night federal officers have sometimes used tear gas and other weapons to move people away from the building. The Portland police have reported 27 arrests since early June at the protests, and at least two dozen people have been arrested by federal officers.

While the president has described Portland as "war-ravaged," Immergut said that the protests fall far below the threshold for ordering federal troops to Portland, which the president has the authority to do only in times of foreign invasion, a rebellion, or when local authorities are unable to maintain order.

"The protests have been such a minor issue that the normal nightlife in downtown Portland has required more police resources than the ICE facility," said Immergut.

The judge added that the US "has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs... This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: This is a nation of constitutional law, not martial law. Defendants have made a range of arguments that, if accepted, risk blurring the line between civil and military federal power—to the detriment of the nation."

Miller's accusation that Immergut was taking part in a "legal insurrection" by rejecting Trump's false claims about the nature of the protests was "reckless," said California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

"It’s authoritarian propaganda, plain and simple. Stephen Miller should be fired," said the Democrat.

New York Times columnist David French added that Miller's claims put Immergut in potential danger, as right-wing counterprotesters have arrived in Portland in recent days.

Immergut's temporary order is set to expire in two weeks, but she is expected to rule on the state's request for a more permanent injunction barring the deployment of the National Guard.

The Trump administration on Saturday night appealed Immergut's ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which previously ruled that Trump could send the National Guard to Los Angeles to stop anti-ICE protests after a federal judge had decided that deployment should be halted.

In addition to seeking the National Guard deployment, the administration has reportedly discussed sending the Army's 82nd Airborne division, which is typically deployed in hostile foreign territory, into Portland.

On Saturday, Miller repeated claims that "there is a large and growing movement of left-wing terrorism in this country" that is "well organized and funded" and "shielded by far-left Democrat judges." Immergut is a Republican.

"The only remedy is to use legitimate state power to dismantle terrorism and terror networks," said Miller.

Since the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk last month, the president and his allies have insisted that left-wing groups are fomenting violence, with Trump signing an executive order falsely claiming he has the authority to designate "antifa" as a "domestic terrorist organization"—despite the fact that no "antifa" organization exists.

The president also signed National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7), which mandates a “national strategy to investigate and disrupt networks, entities, and organizations that foment political violence so that law enforcement can intervene in criminal conspiracies before they result in violent political acts.”

On Saturday, Miller said on Newsmax that the administration intends to apply NSPM-7 in Portland, initiating investigations into what he called a "domestic terrorist network" whenever federal agents make an arrest at a protest.

Miller, said investigative reporter Jim Stewartson, "collapsed Democrats, 'far-left Democrat judges', and 'antifa' into a single domestic terror threat as a pretext for mass arrests."