OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland City Council in Northern California approved a resolution Tuesday to keep the city “safe from President Trump’s federal agents” as liberal backlash over the presence of federal law enforcement officers 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, KGO-TV reported.
“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.
The measures direct the council to take any lawful steps to prevent Trump from deploying federal agents to the city, according to KGO-TV.
“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.
Earlier this month, Oakland was among several cities Trump said could see more federal law enforcement, FOX reported.
“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.”