In June 2020, the Trump administration began deploying federal law enforcement forces to select cities in the United States in response to rioting and monument removals amid the George Floyd protests.

[10] On June 1, 2020, in Washington, D.C., federal law enforcement deployed riot control tactics and munitions against protesters to expand a security perimeter, which allowed for President Donald Trump to later walk from the White House to the historic St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square for a brief photo op.

[12] In July 2020, federal forces were deployed in Portland, Oregon as part of the PACT, where their use of unmarked cars and officers in camouflage without clear identification badges generated outrage.

DHS had plans to send 150 agents to Chicago and President Trump had threatened future deployments to other cities "run by liberal Democrats," including Oakland, California and New York.

[9] According to a Government Accountability Office report released in September 2020 and based on self-reported data, tactical teams from 16 federal agencies were deployed to multiple cities in May and June alone, including Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, CA; Denver, CO; Washington, DC; Miami, FL; Detroit and Port Huron, MI; St. Louis, MO; Buffalo and New York City, NY; Dallas, El Paso, Houston, and Pearland, TX; and Seattle and Tacoma, WA.

[18] By June 19, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security had logged "at least 270 hours of surveillance" captured via airplanes, drones, and helicopters above demonstrations in 15 cities protesting police violence and the murder of George Floyd.

[19] Reportedly, some footage was sent in real time to Air and Marine Operations control centers and fed from there to the so-called "Big Pipe", a digital network enabling other federal agencies and local police to access it.

[8] Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf stated that the task force would not "...stand idly by while violent anarchists and rioters seek not only to vandalize and destroy the symbols of our nation, but to disrupt law and order and sow chaos in our communities.

[27] According to an internal memo, the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis received authorization to engage in domestic surveillance to protect against "threats to damage or destroy any public monument, memorial, or statue".

[40][41][42] A second lawsuit was filed by three protesters on June 11 against law enforcement and Trump administration officials asserting that the forced removal represented a "gross abuse of executive power" that violated their First, Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.

[45] On July 23, Michael Horowitz, the Department of Justice Inspector General, announced that he was investigating the role of the Department of Justice and its law enforcement personnel in responding to protests in Washington during the previous two months, "examining the training and instruction that was provided to the DOJ law enforcement personnel; compliance with applicable identification requirements, rules of engagement, and legal authorities; and adherence to DOJ policies regarding the use of less-lethal munitions, chemical agents, and other uses of force.” He added that he would coordinate with Inspector General Greenblatt's office on the Lafayette Square investigation.

[52] Following the event, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement, reading in part, "at a time when our country cries out for unification, this President is ripping it apart.

A friend who had been walking with him recorded on videotape as multiple armed individuals clad in camouflage jumped out of the van; they apprehended Pettibone without identifying themselves or stating a reason for their actions.

[59] On July 15, video was recorded showing several unidentified armed individuals wearing camouflage fatigues physically apprehending another demonstrator and taking him away in an unmarked van.

[62] Contradicting McEnany's claims of permanent blindness, Acting Deputy Secretary Cuccinelli later testified that all officers recovered full vision within hours or days.

[67][68] However, under a deal worked out between Governor Kate Brown and the Trump administration, federal agents withdrew to standby locations on July 30, while state and local law enforcement forces took over responsibility for protecting the courthouse; they made no arrests and mostly stayed out of sight.

A day prior, Chad Wolf had ordered the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis to stop collecting information on journalists after a separate Washington Post report.

[70] On August 26, Federal Protective Service officers and other DHS personnel used tear gas and impact munitions to disperse a crowd of demonstrators from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Waterfront.

[84][85] The suit accuses the defendants of violating the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights and using excessive force, and it also claims that several of the acting officials haven't been confirmed for their roles and are overstepping their legal authority.

[86] On July 23, Michael Horowitz, the Department of Justice Inspector General, announced that he and the Inspector General's office at the Department of Homeland Security would be investigating the federal law enforcement responses in Portland, "examining the training and instruction that was provided to the DOJ law enforcement personnel; compliance with applicable identification requirements, rules of engagement, and legal authorities; and adherence to DOJ policies regarding the use of less-lethal munitions, chemical agents, and other uses of force.

Senator for Oregon Ron Wyden described the federal officers as an "occupying army—complete with fatigues, military-style equipment and tactics that are utterly unacceptable in an American city.

"[95] Attorney Juan Chavez, the Northwest vice president of the National Lawyers Guild,[96] told Oregon Public Broadcasting in response to the Pettibone case, "It's like stop and frisk meets Guantánamo Bay ...

[108] On July 25, thousands of protesters gathered in Seattle (one of several U.S. cities) where demonstrations took place in solidarity with Portland, Oregon after tensions escalated due to the Trump administration's decision to deploy federal agents against the wishes of local officials.

[119] That same day, Trump publicly praised the Portland policing and said he may send "more federal law enforcement" to "New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, Oakland, and other cities to deal with unrest".

[128] The Oakland Police Department stated it had not requested federal assistance, and the San Francisco chapter of the National Lawyers Guild denounced the plan as "not only unconstitutional but a dangerous escalation towards fascism.

"[129][90] Philadelphia's mayor Jim Kenney denounced the plan and said his city would "use all available means to resist such a wrong-headed effort and abuse of power", and district attorney Larry Krasner issued a statement warning that "Anyone, including federal law enforcement, who unlawfully assaults and kidnaps people will face criminal charges".

"[133] United States House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer released a statement saying, "In deploying federal law enforcement to patrol American cities like Portland and Chicago and silence those exercising their First Amendment rights, Donald Trump is drawing from the playbook of the worst dictators of the past century.

Like others we have seen in some of the darkest periods of history, he is perpetuating a myth of disorder and mob violence–which is not occurring—to justify his deployment of heavily armed, anonymous, military-style agents into our communities who pull peaceful citizens into unmarked vehicles and detain them without lawful cause.

"[134] House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler said, "The legal basis for this use of force has never been explained...it is not at all clear that the Attorney General and the Acting Secretary are authorized to deploy federal law enforcement officers in this manner."

"[137] Harvard legal scholar Andrew Crespo analyzed on Lawfare, "The argument... is that these [federal] agents complied with the Fourth Amendment because they did not need probable cause to put [protestors] in the van in the first place.