Trump: Federal Law Enforcement Coming To Detroit, Other Cities

DETROIT, MI — President Donald Trump has announced plans to send federal law enforcement to Detroit and other cities in the coming weeks in a plan he said aims to combat an increase in crime.

Over the next three weeks, the Department of Justice plans to further expand federal law enforcement presence into Detroit, Cleveland and Milwaukee. Agents have already been present in cities such as Chicago, Albuquerque and Portland following protests surrounding the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died while in police custody with a knee on his neck.

"In recent weeks, there has been a radical movement to defund, dismantle, and dissolve our police departments," Trump said Wednesday during a news conference. "Extreme politicians have joined this anti-police crusade and relentlessly vilified our law enforcement heroes. To look at it from any standpoint, the effort to shut down policing in their own communities has led to a shocking explosion of shootings, killings, murders, and heinous crimes of violence.

"This bloodshed must end. This bloodshed will end."

Related: Whitmer: Trump 'Doesn't Know The First Thing About Detroit'

Trump earlier in the week listed Detroit among cities that he was considering sending federal agents to, citing an increase in crime.

Trump has recently deployed federal forces in cities such as Portland to suppress protests against police brutality. Trump described Chicago, one city that had large numbers of protests, as "worse than Afghanistan."

Early on Monday, federal law enforcement used tear gas to disperse groups of demonstrators near a federal court house in Portland, according to The Detroit News.

"The fact is (city police are) restricted from doing anything. They can't do anything. Well, I'm going to do something, that I can tell you," Trump said Monday. "Because we're not going to let New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore ... we're not going to let this happen in our country.

"We're going to have more federal law enforcement, that I can tell you," Trump added. "In Portland, they've done a fantastic job."

Trump's comments prompted Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to respond, saying Trump "doesn't know the first thing about Detroit."

"There is no reason for the president to send federal troops into a city where people are demanding change peacefully and respectfully," Whitmer said. "If the president actually wants to help the people of Michigan, he can start by picking up the phone and telling Mitch McConnell to pass the HEROES Act, so we can provide immediate relief to Michigan's families, schools, and small businesses."

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan touched on Trump's comments Wednesday during a news conference, adding on social media that he did not think there was a need for an added federal presence in the city due to protests.

"The bond between the Detroit Police Department and this community was strong enough that we could handle the protests ourselves," Duggan said. "We’ve made it very clear that Department of Homeland Security people coming to town to deal with protestors is not going to be acceptable."