
President Donald Trump's Wednesday afternoon press conference, held in the same White House room where President Barack Obama announced the U.S. had killed Osama bin Laden, was quickly panned as a "last-ditch effort to win the election," "fascism," and an unnecessary use of force over the wishes of U.S. cities.
Trump announced he will be sending hundreds of federal officers to the streets of Chicago to arrest “murderers and violent criminals" who, he claimed, "are breaking a wide range of federal laws, we have that, it’s as wide as it can be.”
In Portland, Trump's highly-armed SWAT teams are causing massive unrest, especially after reports that his secret police "goon squads," as some have called them, are "proactively arresting" Americans who have committed no crimes, as Homeland Security acting Secretary Chad Wolf admitted Tuesday.
At least one legal expert wants to know under what authority can Trump take these actions:
What’s the jurisdiction? Is there any plausible authorization for this? https://t.co/pBoYMbBUy4— Anthony Michael Kreis (@Anthony Michael Kreis) 1595449555.0
Former head of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics had a more incisive response:
On social media many expressed fear, anger, and outrage.
BREAKING: trump is announcing today that his "Operation Legend" will send hundreds of jack-booted secret police fed… https://t.co/YqaCVaoZRK— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@BrooklynDad_Defiant!) 1595448636.0
AG Barr is putting lipstick on Gestapo pigs.— Untucked with Jeremy Newberger (@Untucked with Jeremy Newberger) 1595448903.0
anyone pretending donald trump or the rest of the gop cares about black crime victims is so full of it— Oliver Willis (@Oliver Willis) 1595448559.0
TRUMP: We must beat groups of dangerous moms linking hands and chanting witch-like incantations in front of Federal… https://t.co/icNvm9Ll1G— Untucked with Jeremy Newberger (@Untucked with Jeremy Newberger) 1595448397.0
Whatever genius is advising Trump on policy - sending storm troopers to gas moms does not make you a law and order… https://t.co/ibDapcdsjS— Amy Siskind 🏳️🌈 (@Amy Siskind 🏳️🌈) 1595449687.0
If you're not getting frightened, you're not listening.— Kurt "Masks Save Lives" Eichenwald (@Kurt "Masks Save Lives" Eichenwald) 1595449536.0
Operation Legend is Trump's last-ditch effort to win the election by manufacturing battles in American cities and c… https://t.co/po97FUkvxK— JRehling (@JRehling) 1595449627.0
Trump is hoping for a bloodbath.— Charles Johnson (@Charles Johnson) 1595448605.0
Don't worry. I'm sure they'll stop at this level of fascism.— William K. Wolfrum (@William K. Wolfrum) 1595448790.0
Absolute, complete, unadulterated election-year hokum from a guy who's losing: https://t.co/mEApHolkir— Clyde Haberman (@Clyde Haberman) 1595454332.0
It isn’t a shock Trump is compulsively tripling down on his authoritarian act. He has been exposed as an impotent… https://t.co/3kNesuS8kd— The Hoarse Whisperer (@The Hoarse Whisperer) 1595450224.0
So, in the name of that 4 year old kid who was unjustly murdered, Trump is going to send paramilitary mooks into Am… https://t.co/PLFEy0I1JM— Untucked with Jeremy Newberger (@Untucked with Jeremy Newberger) 1595449986.0