New York City Mayor, Bill de Blasio on Tuesday July 21, threatened President Donald Trump with a court fight if he follows through with his plan of sending federal troops to quell uprisings in the country’s most populous city.
Commenting on Trump’s insistence on sending federal law enforcement to New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and other cities in a federal crackdown on anti-racism protests sparked by George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody on May 25, Blasio described it as “bluster”.
He said;
“If he tried to do it, it would only create more problems. We would immediately take action in court to stop it.
“I do believe it’s bluster. I do believe we can beat him in court. It would just create a lot of pain and confusion. Maybe that’s what he wants.”
On Monday, Trump called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to end the recent crime spree in the Big Apple, saying, “if the governor is not going to do something about it, we’ll do something about it.”
Trump also floated the idea of sending in federal law enforcement officers — like he did last week in response to violent protests in Portland, Oregon. Officials there have said the presence of federal agents has only exacerbated the riots, which have been raging for more than 50 nights.
Oregon’s Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum also sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week and asked a federal judge to grant a temporary order blocking its officers from what she called unlawful detentions that lacked probable cause.
