Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, a Democrat, warned on Sunday that President Donald Trump's latest move crossed a "big line."
On Saturday, Trump ordered federal troops to be deployed to Portland, Oregon, to protect the city "and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists," the president wrote on Truth Social. Rayfield described this order as a "heavy concept" during an interview on Sunday with progressive YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen.
"It's a heavy concept to use the United States military against its own citizens in a state," Rayfield said.
Trump has previously ordered the deployment of National Guard troops to cities like Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee, under the guise of addressing local crime.
"It's so darn important that we have attorneys general across this country that are holding the line against a president who's trying to federalize the US military against its own citizens," Rayfield said. "It is a big line for this president to cross. And he's crossed over some real significant lines."
"Right now, we have politicians, frankly, from both parties, who are talking about gaming our electoral system to maintain control of our country and Congress," he added. "That's problematic. We should not be having those conversations in this country. We should have integrity in our elections. And...he's done a lot of other things to frankly game our electoral system. Incredibly bothersome."