The Oakland, Calif., City Council approved a resolution Tuesday to keep the city “safe from President Trump‘s federal agents” as backlash over the presence of federal forces deployed to major cities continues.
The unanimous vote was taken during the council’s virtual special meeting. The legislation cited the ongoing protests in Portland, Ore., where protesters and authorities have violently clashed for weeks.
“Federal agents have attacked and tear-gassed peaceful protesters, and camouflage-clad federal agents were observed grabbing peaceful protesters and throwing them into unmarked vehicles,” the resolution reads.
Federal agents use crowd control munitions to disperse Black Lives Matter demonstrators during a protest at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse Friday in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
The measures direct the council to take any lawful steps to prevent Trump from deploying federal agents to the city.
“That won’t quell or suppress a riot or something like that, it would actually incite one, so it’s for everybody’s benefit for this not to happen,” one council member said, according to KGO-TV.
Earlier this month, Oakland was among several cities Trump said could see more federal law enforcement.
“We’re not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these… Oakland is a mess,” he told reporters from the White House. “We’re not going to let this happen in our country.”
A protester holds a sign calling for the defunding of police at a protest on Saturday in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa)
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On Wednesday, the Justice Department announced the expansion of Operation Legend, which the agency says will help local police combat violent crime in various cities, to Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee.
The council also unanimously passed a measure to form a task force with the goal of defunding the police department by half over two years. The funds would be diverted to programs to address housing, homelessness and health care.