[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 21, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H3596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UNWELCOME TACTICS BY FEDERAL AGENTS
(Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, I fear that people don't really
appreciate what is going on in my hometown of Portland, Oregon, with
the Federal interference, so let's put a face on it.
Christopher J. David, a 53-year-old Navy veteran, graduate of the
Naval Academy, college wrestler, was concerned about the Pinochet-type
behavior of Federal officials in our community--uninvited, unwelcomed,
and unprepared.
He felt that their actions as Federal agents was in violation of
their oath to support, uphold, and defend the Constitution, which our
new colleague just accepted.
When he asked officers how they justified what they were doing with
their oath of office, he didn't get an answer; he got pepper sprayed.
He was beaten. His hand was broken. He is facing surgery to install
pins, screws, and plates.
This is the face of the Trump administration's unprecedented
interference in our community, taking a difficult situation and making
it worse.
Madam Speaker, I hope my colleagues will take a hard look at what is
going on here, because the Trump administration is trying to overshadow
its other failures with tactics like this. There is more on the
horizon.
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