
SALT LAKE CITY — Earlier this month in Portland, Oregon, Christopher J. David joined in local protests. David, a veteran of the United States Navy, took issue with videos he’d seen of federal agents’ use of force against demonstrators. He stood before federal agents asking them questions; they responded by battering his leg with a baton and spraying pepper spray in his face.
The incident helped fuel criticism of the role and behavior of federal agents — including officers from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Marshals Service — deployed to that city. Reports surfaced of agents pulling protesters into unmarked vans and firing rubber bullets at protesters’ heads. Many observers likened them to an army occupying enemy territory.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump ...
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