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Alyssa Milano condemned the use of federal agents against protesters in Portland, Ore., in a fiery Twitter thread in which she declared that the situation should “concern everyone.”
The actress and activist took to social media on Tuesday to discuss the situation in the Oregon city, which has seen several weeks of protests against police brutality and systemic racism sparked by the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25.
President Trump has insisted that federal agents are necessary to protect government assets in the city, but local officials and citizens are denouncing the use of often unidentified officers using military tactics against even peaceful protesters.
“What is happening with the #PortlandProtests should concern everyone,” Milano wrote on Tuesday. “We are in a fight to save our democracy. People have been taking to the streets to protest against police brutality and systemic racism. Protestors are being abused for exercising their 1st amendment right.”
The star went on to assert that the protesters are often assembling peacefully and that situations are being exacerbated into violence by the presence of over-militarized agents.
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“Moms, dads, parents, kids, and more are chanting, singing, standing, marching, sitting, day after day and night after night to demand justice for the far too many Black lives taken by police. But their calls for change have only been met by even more brutality,” she wrote. “Police & federal agents are terrorizing the community, threatening lives, and attacking people simply for protesting police brutality. This is not law and order. This is lawlessness — it must be stopped. Trump’s lawlessness must end.”
She ended her Twitter thread with a call for her followers to donate to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Her comments echoed those of Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who acknowledged that violence has broken out from protesters over the past few weeks, including the vandalism of federal buildings. However, he said that those stories are drowning out the message of otherwise peaceful protesters.
“Keep your troops in your own buildings, or have them leave our city,” Wheeler said Friday. “The words and actions from President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security have shown that this is an attack on our democracy.”
Alyssa Milano condemned the use of federal agents in Portland, Ore. (Getty Images)
Last week, reports circulated that federal agents deployed to Portland were not identifying themselves as they detained protesters in unmarked vans. Portland Police said Monday that federal agents had deployed CS gas, otherwise known as tear gas, to disperse crowds.
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In a statement, DHS insisted that agents are identifying themselves as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. But they admitted agents are not wearing name tags -- citing recent doxing incidents against law enforcement.
Fox News' Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
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