An unprecedented weekend put Portland at the center of national headlines, as President Trump continued his push to deploy National Guard members into the city over the objections of city and state elected officials and a federal judge.

It was a dramatic 48 hours.

After his order for an Oregon National Guard deployment was blocked, Trump turned to the National Guard in California and Texas for hundreds of federal troops he could send to Portland.

Late Sunday, U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut again sided with the state of Oregon.

Here are the key developments over the weekend:

Friday, Oct. 3

Dueling narratives: Judge Immergut heard starkly different views of ongoing protests at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in South Portland, during a hearing about whether she should halt President Trump’s attempt to deploy 200 members of the Oregon National Guard under federal command.

Attorneys representing the Trump administration told the judge that protesters had “assaulted federal law enforcement officers with rocks, bricks, pepper spray and incendiary devices. They have damaged federal property, including by breaking office windows, security cameras, and card readers permitting entry to the building,”

Attorneys for Portland and the state of Oregon provided evidence showing that protests had been relatively mild leading up to Trump’s order. This includes the night before his social media post about Portland, when police noted the ICE facility protest featured 8-15 people at any given time “mostly sitting in lawn chairs and walking around” and that “energy was low, minimal activity.”

Trump investigates: The Trump administration announced a “full investigation” into how Portland police have handled ICE protests. This came following the arrest of conservative journalist and influencer Nick Sortor. OPB obtained memos showing the administration sought body camera footage from Sortor’s arrest and also data connected to the city’s decision to enforce zoning laws around the ICE building.

In a press conference, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the anti-ICE protesters “violent mob members who, night after night after night, are ravaging this community,” Leavitt said.

Trump administration announces ‘full investigation’ into how Portland police have handled ICE protests

Saturday, Oct. 4

A large march and tense protest: A large protest on Saturday started out calm, as hundreds marched to the ICE detention facility from a nearby park.

In the early afternoon, crowds gathered peacefully and mostly stayed concentrated in front of the facility. Soon after, federal law enforcement marched out of the center and fired tear gas and smoke canisters to disperse the crowd. They also fired pepper balls at people.

Several people were arrested.

Federal officers fire tear gas, make multiple arrests during protest outside Portland ICE facility

Judge halts Trump: Immergut ruled in favor of the state of Oregon and city of Portland on Saturday afternoon, granting them a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to put the Oregon National Guard under federal command.

Immergut found the Trump administration’s argument unconvincing, saying incidents at the ICE facility “do not approach the level of disruption to federal functions.”

In her opinion on the ruling, she noted that deployment of the National Guard had the potential to inflame protests, and said any deployment of federal troops to Oregon would be “an injury to its sovereignty”

Judge halts deployment of Oregon National Guard, Trump administration files appeal

Federal tactics escalate: Shortly past 8 p.m., just hours after Judge Immergut paused the Trump administration’s deployment of 200 Oregon National Guard members, federal law enforcement officers escalated the tactics used on protesters in the city.

Outside the ICE facility, federal officers pushed crowds of protesters hundreds of yards down city streets and fired tear gas, flash-bang grenades and pepper balls without any clear signs of provocation.

Federal officers were flanked by videographers, toting professional equipment and wearing high-visibility vests. They filmed from behind the lines of officers, capturing the show of force. At least two drones swept over the scenes.

Federal tactics on Portland protesters escalate, hours after judge rules against Trump

Trump appeals: Attorneys for the Trump administration filed a notice with the court late Saturday that they were appealing the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The U.S. Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Sunday, Oct. 5

Cleaning up after a protest: Some residents living near the ICE building in Portland’s South Waterfront awoke Sunday morning and took to the streets to clean up trash. OPB visited the neighborhood and spoke with neighbors. One described tear gas fired by federal officers coming through a window unit air conditioner. One man, who supports National Guard resources for ICE, said he visited the area just to see what the fuss was about.

ICE building neighbors clean up, reflect following latest Portland protests

Circumventing the judge: On Sunday morning, news broke that Trump is circumventing Immergut’s ruling by bringing several hundred members of the California National Guard to Portland. California Gov. Gavin Newsome and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek fiercely denounced the decision and vowed to fight it in court.

Circumventing court order’s intent, Trump sends California National Guard to Oregon

Trump repeats falsehood: Also Sunday, Trump gave a press conference on the White House lawn in which he repeated his unfounded accusations that Portland is “burning down to the ground.”

At 7:30 a.m. in Portland, hours after he made the comments, videos taken in front of the ICE Building — the scene of the protests at issue — show the streets as virtually empty and quiet aside from some passing cars. Runners in the annual Portland Marathon ran past the ICE facility the same day without incident.

Also in his remarks to the press, Trump mis-identified Judge Karin Immergut, whom he appointed in 2019, saying she “ought to be ashamed of himself.”

California and Oregon file challenge: On Sunday afternoon, California and Oregon joined in court to block the Trump administration from sending hundreds of members of the California National Guard to Portland.

Texas gets involved: As the two Democrat-controlled states challenged Trump in court, a third, conservative state entered the mix.

Texas National Guard troops appear to have been summoned to Portland, according to a Sunday court filing. The document states that up to 400 members of the Texas National Guard are being deployed “to perform federal protection missions where needed, including in the cities of Portland and Chicago.”

Deployment halted again: Judge Immergut held a hearing late Sunday evening and issued an order prohibiting the deployment or relocation of any federalized members of any state’s National Guard to Oregon.

The order came shortly after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott boasted on X about the possibility of Texas troops deploying to another state over the objections of another governor, stating, “You can either fully enforce protection for federal employees or get out of the way and let Texas Guard do it.”

Immergut’s ruling now seemingly prevents that.

Federal judge blocks federalized guard from deploying to Oregon

Protests continue: Activity on Sunday night was quieter than over the weekend. Protesters and counter protesters lined the sidewalks around the ICE facility holding signs, American flags and filming on cell phones, at times getting into arguments. At one point, federal law enforcement deployed red smoke bombs after escorting a vehicle out of the building, and it appeared that several arrests were made. Otherwise, traffic was no longer blocked by large crowds. Several people sporadically passed a soccer ball back and forth.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/06/portland-weekend-ice-protests-tear-gas-national-guard-restraining-orders/