Fox's Napolitano rips 'unconstitutional' Trump crackdown on Portland: 'Just plain wrong'
Source: The Hill
Andrew Napolitano slammed the Trump administration for sending federal law enforcement to Portland in response to violent protests in Oregon's largest city, with the Fox News senior judicial analyst calling the move "unconstitutional" and "just plain wrong."
“What happened in Portland over the weekend, it was not only unlawful and unconstitutional, it’s just plain wrong,” the former New Jersey Superior Court judge continued. “Sending armed, untrained police into the streets wearing fatigues without the knowledge or consent of the local police actually caused more violence.”
“You have a lot of peaceful demonstrators,” Napolitano argued. “The complaint filed by the attorney general of Oregon against the Department of Homeland Security recounts horror stories of peaceful people being kidnapped, held blindfold, handcuffed, and incommunicado for just two hours and then let go. There is no reason to disturb those people. The people they should stop are the ones with the baseball bats.”
“The federal government can’t do what it doesn’t have the authority to do,” he added. “And it shouldn’t do anything without the coordination of the locals.”
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/media/508205-foxs-napolitano-rips-unconstitutional-trump-crackdown-on-portland-just-plain
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was among the lawmakers who criticized the actions of federal officers, though he stopped short of criticizing Trump directly.
“We cannot give up liberty for security. Local law enforcement can and should be handling these situations in our cities but there is no place for federal troops or unidentified federal agents rounding people up at will,” Paul tweeted Monday to his more than 2.8 million followers.
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