Attorney General Pam Bondi threw the weight of her Justice Department behind a conservative influencer who was temporarily arrested for disorderly conduct in Portland on Thursday while attending a demonstration outside the city’s immigration detention facility.
Nick Sortor, a pro-Trump Fox News regular who describes himself as a journalist, claimed after he was released on Friday that his “targeted” arrest proved the Portland Police are controlled by “violent Antifa thugs who terrorize the streets.” His comments matched those of President Donald Trump and members of his coalition who have alleged cities like Portland and Washington, D.C., are “war ravaged” and “burning down.”
A recent report from the Major Cities Chiefs Association found that homicides in Portland from January to June decreased by more than 50% compared to the same period in 2024, however, part of a broader nationwide decline in violent crime. Portland leaders and police have denied any political partisanship in their law enforcement efforts, and have said they do not need the help of federal troops to control the single block outside the ICE facility where protests have occurred.
Within hours of Sortor’s arrest, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon posted on X, saying she had spoken with both Sortor and Bondi about the incident, and that an investigation into the arrest was a “high priority” for the department’s Civil Rights Division. Since Trump’s inauguration, the division has strayed from its longstanding mission to protect racial and ethnic minorities from discrimination in favor of investigating discrimination against Christians and white Americans.
“I have been in direct contact with top officials at DHS. What’s coming in Portland is unprecedented,” Sortor threatened on his X account on Friday. “All thanks to @PortlandPolice exposing themselves by arresting journalists. Great work, Portland!”
On Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the agency would send additional federal agents and the Justice Department was launching a civil rights investigation into the circumstances surrounding Sortor’s arrest, and whether the Portland Police Bureau engages in viewpoint discrimination, according to The Associated Press.
“Last night, the arrests that we made, we made based upon probable cause, not based upon individuals,” Police Chief Bob Day told a news conference Friday. “There is no political bias associated with our enforcement.”
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Meanwhile, a federal judge heard arguments — but did not immediately rule — on whether to temporarily block Trump’s call-up of 200 Oregon National Guard members, which the administration said is needed to protect the ICE facility and other federal buildings.
The escalation of federal law enforcement in Portland, population 636,000 and Oregon’s largest city, follows similar crackdowns to combat alleged crime in other cities, including Chicago, Baltimore and Memphis. He deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles over the summer and, as part of his law enforcement takeover in Washington, D.C., which critics have described as a show of force from the president against his political opponents, with little factual merit.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said it was reviewing Sortor’s case and would make a decision on whether to proceed with charges before his arraignment on Monday. What led to the arrests was not immediately clear.
Portland police said in a news release that officers observed two men fighting, and one of the men was knocked to the ground. Neither of the men wanted to file a police report. Police moved in about three hours later, as fights continued to break out, and arrested Sorter and two others.
All three were charged with second-degree disorderly conduct. Sorter was released Friday on his own recognizance, according to Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office’s online records. There has been a sustained and low-level protest outside the Portland ICE facility — far from the downtown clashes of 2020 — since Trump took office in January.
Those protests flared in June, during the national protests surrounding Trump’s military parade, but have rarely attracted more than a few dozen people in the past two months. Trump has once more turned his attention to the city, calling Portland “war-ravaged” and a “war zone” that is “burning down” and like “living in hell.”
But local officials have suggested that many of his claims and social media posts appear to rely on images from 2020. Under a new mayor, the city has reduced crime, and the downtown has seen a decrease in homeless encampments and increased foot traffic.
City leaders have urged restraint and told residents not to “take the bait” this week after the announcement that the National Guard would be sent to Portland. Oregon sued to stop the deployment on Sept. 28 after Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek failed to persuade Trump to call off the deployment in a 10-minute phone call on Sept. 27.
Immergut said she would issue an order later Friday or over the weekend. Meanwhile, the National Guard troops — from communities not too far from Portland — were training on the Oregon Coast in anticipation of deployment.