Trump threatened Portland with troops to quell protests. The mayor says it's not needed

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Protesters yell at officers as they walk back to the gates after they created a path for vehicles to exit the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, Ore., on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

PORTLAND, Ore. – A gas mask dangled from Deidra Watts's backpack as she joined a couple dozen others outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, just as she has many nights since July.

The protesters toed a blue line painted across the building's driveway. “GOVERNMENT PROPERTY DO NOT BLOCK,” read its white, stenciled letters. When they lingered too close, what appeared to be pepper balls rained down on them from officers posted on the building's roof.

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