Chicago OKs federal agents

The deployment of federal agents to US cities to stem violence intensified as a political issue Tuesday, but Chicago appears to have reached an understanding with the Trump administration on the matter.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday that she would cooperate upon reports that 150 federal agents would be sent to the US' third-largest city, but also said that her administration would be vigilant to ensure that a contentious situation doesn't emerge, as has been the case in Portland, Oregon.

Lightfoot said she has spoken with US Attorney John Lausch in Chicago, and said, "What I understand at this point — and I caveat that — is that the Trump administration is not going to foolishly deploy unnamed agents to the streets of Chicago," the Chicago Sun-Times reported. "As I understand it, what we will be getting are some additional resources in the FBI, the DEA and the ATF.

"What we will receive is resources that are going to plug into the existing federal agencies that we work with on a regular basis to help manage and suppress violent crime in our city. … Unlike what happened in Portland, the US attorney himself, John Lausch, is in the loop and will help managing the additional resources.

"That's a big difference. In Portland, they ignored the US attorney, put these agents on the street and … what happened was not only unconstitutional, it was undemocratic."

Lightfoot said she supports an "actual partnership" with the federal government. She acknowledged there are "some things the feds are uniquely qualified to do, and we would welcome that", the Sun-Times reported.

US Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, said Tuesday that she would join Oregon's Democratic senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden in the crafting of a bill to prevent the administration "from deploying federal forces as a shadowy paramilitary against Americans".

"My answer to him (Trump) is don't even think about it. This is disgusting, and it is the further politicization of our institutions, which should be nonpartisan," Duckworth, a combat veteran who lost both legs in Iraq, said on CNN about the federal deployment. She is one of several women being considered as a vice-presidential running mate for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Trump's threat to send agents to the city was likely "bluster" but added that he would challenge any deployment in the courts. He said scenes of unidentified officers putting people in unmarked vans in Portland "appeared to violate basic constitutional rights".

"This president blusters and bluffs and says he's going to do things and they never materialize on a regular basis, so we should not overrate his statements; they are so often not true."

The Portland protests have gone on for more than 50 nights. On Monday, video showed federal agents firing tear gas, protesters pulling down fencing around the federal courthouse, and hundreds of people dressed in yellow who said they were mothers and fathers demanding that agents withdraw.

Some Portland residents are growing weary of the protests.

Stacey Gibson, who owns a Subway sandwich shop downtown, said the store's windows are often boarded up, which has contributed to declining sales already hampered by the coronavirus and related lockdowns, The New York Times reported.

Gibson said she was frustrated by the lack of police response and resolve by city leaders.

She told the Times she was not optimistic about the future of her business.

"At this point, I'm just trying to figure out how to get out and to minimize the damage," she said.

DHS has placed about 2,000 officials from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other agencies on standby for possible deployment to cities, the Times reported.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said he would criminally charge any federal agents that arrested citizens without probable cause or restrained them unlawfully. He said he saw potential crimes by agents in video footage from Portland.

But Krasner said he was skeptical that Trump would send agents to Philadelphia.

"Let us not take these fluffy words and act like they are more than they really are," he said. "It's really just bluster."

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said dispatching agents would be justified by a federal statute giving the Homeland Security secretary the power to deputize agents to protect federal property and people on that property.

In Chicago, 12 people were killed in the city and dozens injured by gunfire over the weekend.

"How about Chicago? Would you say they need help after this weekend?" Trump told reporters at the White House. "You know the numbers that you hear, the numbers? Many, many shot. Many, many killed."

"We are not going to have people who don't know our streets, don't know our neighborhoods and then who are engaging in clearly unconstitutional conduct operating at will in our city," Lightfoot said Monday in an interview on MSNBC.

None of the weekend shootings in Chicago were connected to a protest Friday night, where people marching against police brutality and racism attempted to topple a statue of Christopher Columbus. Video shows officers using batons against protesters, some of whom threw fireworks, pieces of pipe and frozen water bottles at police.

Lightfoot also said video had surfaced showing a small group of people had broken off from marching protesters, changed into black clothes and, using umbrellas to shield themselves from view, threw the items at police.

"That's not peaceful protest, that's anarchy, and we are going to put that down," she said.

Police Superintendent David Brown said 49 officers were injured, 18 of whom required hospital treatment.

"Peaceful demonstrations have been hijacked by organized mobs," said Brown, adding that he will order officers to wear "any and all protective gear" at protests.

The president of Chicago's police officer's union wrote Trump a letter asking "for help from the federal government" to help combat gun violence. The city has suffered 414 homicides this year, compared with 275 during the same time last year.

Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara called Lightfoot a "complete failure who is either unwilling or unable to maintain law and order".

Lightfoot called Catanzara "an unhinged leader of the Fraternal Order of Police who is craven and trying to get attention".

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this story.