Federal law enforcement agents to Chicago, Albuquerque
cbc.ca
cbc.ca
But more than that, he is using Federal Officers to inflict violence on protestors. True, some protestors have been violent(mostly to property, but not entirely), but Federal agents are also using force on clearly peaceful protestors.
As a US citizen myself, I am speechless. How is this our reality?
But it doesn't go without my notice that this is EXACTLY the treatment that African Americans are protesting. And now, allies of the BLM movement are subject some of the same dehumanizing and violent treatment from law enforcement that we are protesting against, regardless of race.
This is exactly how many Russians felt when they saw the constitution effectively annulled in 2003.
Back then nobody could've believed the USSR can return, and people were laughing at the few who were smart to freak out about that.
Democracy is a really fragile thing. It really can disappear overnight.
One day, you wake up, turn on the news, and you drop your jaw. Just like this.
That's true, but somewhat beside the point. He's using the flimsiest pretext to do things in the most provocative way possible as a deliberate attempt to cause violent radicalization on both sides and provide pretext for further escalation and executive authoritarian action, and deliberately targeting locations that will assure that the resulting chaos and it's hoped-for adverse effects on election administration redounds to his electoral advantage and, failing that, that the chaos itself provides a pretext for his openly-telegraphed backup tactic of rejecting the election results.
But it would explain a lot if this administration were deliberately trying to destabilize things, instead of just blundering...
Individually, he may not be and he may not, but the people who work for him and recommend policy actions to him are and do, and while there seem to be frequent conflicts of goals between his close advisors (though that's been less visible since the last few shakeups, whether because it's not happening as much or because less is leaking), this is one where the factional interests are aligned.
(I don't know, I'm genuinely asking.)
The mayor is well aware of the practice being employed, and this is a way of saying it is distinctly unwelcome without minimizing the issues being used as a pretext for it.
The police union did, but in any case, for very good reasons of federalism, the normal and proper route for such a request for federal intervention in local civil order other than as a result of open rebellion by the State government against the Union is from the Governor of the State (who will consider the need for such a request in light of and assure coordination with any state response available and in use, such as state-level law enforcement, National Guard, etc.), not from the local police command.
Sending them against the express will of the localities, however, is probably illegal.