Oregon governor says US agents will start leaving Portland

By GILLIAN FLACCUS and JONATHAN LEMIRE Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s governor says federal agents who have clashed with protesters in the state’s largest city will begin what she called a “phased withdrawal.” Gov. Kate Brown said Wednesday that the agents will begin leaving Portland’s downtown area on Thursday. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement the plan includes what he called a “robust presence” of Oregon State Police in downtown Portland. Protests have roiled the city for more than two months since the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Like many other protests, they sought to highlight and call for an end to racial injustice. They increasingly focused on federal property even before the U.S. agents arrived.