STOP TRUMP’S COPS IN PORTLAND FROM INCITING VIOLENCE
ACTION ONE: CALL YOUR SENATORS
SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR WYDEN AND MERKLEY:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling to thank you for your letter to DOJ and DHS. I agree, “This politically driven federal response is intolerable . . . and potentially deadly.” Trump boasted Monday that he has “done a great job in Portland.” In fact, Trump lied about protecting monuments to send federal police forces here. Trump’s cops have shot one person in the head and they have used chemical and other weapons repeatedly night after night. This is just a political stunt like his Bible photo op in DC. And the use of excessive force is designed to trigger a violent response. Please use your voice to demand the administration withdraw these troops from our streets. There is no need for this. They have caused unnecessary and, at times, severe injuries.
CALL SENATOR MERKLEY
CALL SENATOR WYDEN
ACTION TWO: CALL YOUR HOUSE REPS
Not sure who your U.S. Representative is? Find out here.
SAMPLE SCRIPTS FOR REPRESENTATIVES:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
For Blumenauer and Bonamici:
I thank you for your letter to DOJ and DHS. I agree, “This politically driven federal response is intolerable . . . and potentially deadly.” Trump boasted Monday that he has “done a great job in Portland.” In fact, Trump lied about protecting monuments to send federal police forces here. Trump’s cops have shot one person in the head and they have used chemical and other weapons repeatedly night after night. This is just a political stunt like his Bible photo op in DC. And the use of excessive force is designed to trigger a violent response. Please use your voice to demand the administration withdraw these troops from our streets. There is no need for this. They have caused unnecessary and, at times, severe injuries.
For all others:
Trump boasted Monday that he has “done a great job in Portland.” In fact, Trump lied about protecting monuments to send federal police forces here. Trump’s cops have shot one person in the head and they have used chemical and other weapons repeatedly night after night. This is just a political stunt like his Bible photo op in DC. And the use of excessive force is designed to trigger a violent response. Please use your voice to demand the administration withdraw these troops from our streets. There is no need for this. They have caused unnecessary and, at times, severe injuries.
CALL SUZANNE BONAMICI (OR-01)
CALL GREG WALDEN (OR-02)
CALL BLUMENAUER (OR-03)
CALL PETER DEFAZIO (OR-04)
CALL KURT SCHRADER (OR-05)
ACTION THREE: DUMP TRUMP. FLIP THE SENATE. AND KEEP EDUCATING YOURSELF.
- Antiracist actions: Keep learning about racism — how it is baked into our country’s design and how it works today. Justice in Junehas 10-, 25-, and 45-minute actions you can take every day. They recommend this six-minute video.
- GOTV actions: Indivisible Oregon is working with Swing Left and its smart Super State Strategy to defeat Trump and the GOP and transform our government. We have adopted Arizona where we can flip the White House, the Senate, and the state houses key to rolling back Republican gerrymandering—all at the same time. Join us to write letters and, soon, to phonebank. Action is the antidote to anxiety (and despair)!
- Our hosted letter writing events on Zoom every Saturday — sign up at https://swingleft.org/group/indivisible-oregon
- Write letters to voters from home, whenever it’s convenient for you. Register with Vote Forward at: org and get started.
- Host your own virtual letter-writing party through Swing Left. It’s easy and fun.
BACKGROUND:
“We’ve done a great job in Portland,” Trump boasted Monday. “Portland was totally out of control. They (federal police) went in and . . . (w)e very much quelled it.”
Under the pretext of protecting monuments, Trump ordered dozens of federal law enforcement officers, armed but without name tags, to Portland. Last Saturday, one of those federal cops shot a young man in the head.
Daily, demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest police violence in the wake of the George Floyd murder. Trump’s troops in Portland have aggressively and violently pushed back protesters, repeatedly using chemicals and weapons prohibited for use by Portland’s own police.
“There is no question President Trump is escalating this,” said Sen. Ron Wyden.
It’s a political stunt. His campaign manager said as much in a tweet Monday: “Biden is too weak to stand up to radicals . . . President Trump will ALWAYS stand strongly in support of our brave law enforcement officers.”
Those officers have been shown slashing tires and breaking windows, just what they were supposedly sent to Portland to stop.
The injured protester required reconstructive surgery, according to his mother.
Call your representatives and demand Trump’s troops leave Portland’s streets.
SOURCES:
Letter from four of Oregon’s federal lawmakers, July 14, 2020: Including Sens. Wyden and Merkley, and Representatives Bonamici and Blumenauer https://www.facebook.com/blumenauer/photos/pcb.10158525449271788/10158525420586788/?type=3&theater
To follow the nightly police violence on Twitter use hashtags #PortlandProtests and #PortlandProtest
Mayor Ted Wheeler, July 13, 2020: “The President did not quell it, he escalated it. His heavy-handed tactics led to a serious injury and enflamed an already tense situation.” https://twitter.com/tedwheeler/status/1282906574327967744
Trump’s campaign manager Tweet’s the political purpose behind the show of force, July 13, 2020: https://twitter.com/parscale/status/1282768375463251968
Twitter, July 12, 2020: “This appears to be the moment that #Portland protester was struck in the head and suffered a gruesome injury.” https://twitter.com/zerosum24/status/1282275808413966337
Twitter, July 11, 2020: “The officers have a shot someone in the head with what Appears to be an impact munition, there is a lot of blood” https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1282176328305762307
Washington Post, July 13, 2020: “Opinion | A protester was shot by police in Oregon. Democrats should demand answers. – The Washington Post”
Oregon Public Broadcasting, July 12, 2020” Federal Officers Shoot Portland Protester In Head With ‘Less Lethal’ Munitions . News | OPB
