‘The federal government has faked a riot’: Oregon senator says Trump’s goons now attacking ICE to justify use of Insurrection Act

Donald Trump and his Republican cronies have spent the last month frantically insisting that Democrat-controlled cities have descended into lawless chaos, which means they’reduty-bound to send in the troops to seize control.

Unfortunately for them, reality says otherwise. As bemused Chicagoans and Portlanders have noted, their cities clearly aren’t “war zones”, buildings are not “in flames”, and everything appears normal. But, if there isn’t civil unrest, Trump and his goons are apparently eager to make it happen.

Politicians in both cities have argued that people are posing as protesters and trying to stoke violence with faked attacks on ICE and law enforcement. Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley laid it out in recent comments, saying he believes Trump is faking riots to give him an excuse to use the Insurrection Act:

Sen. Jeff Merkley, Oregon Dem, accuses admin of staging a riot in Portland, citing local reporting.

This is the first time I know of, at least in my lifetime, that the federal government has faked a riot in order to try to justify the Insurrection Act being invoked,” he told us.

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 7, 2025

“This is the first time I know of, at least in my lifetime, that the federal government has faked a riot in order to try to justify the Insurrection Act being invoked.”

We have the video to back it up

This isn’t some random claim, as a week ago, footage emerged showing far-right and pro-Trump ‘Patriot Prayer’ founder Joey Gibson and his girlfriend being unmasked in Portland as they tried to infiltrate a peaceful protest:

Joey Gibson, founder of Patriot Prayer, a spinoff of Patriot Front, and his girlfriend, in black bloc in Portland, Oregon as agitators.

Some things never change. pic.twitter.com/VwkNInaHJH

— Malcontent News (@MalcontentmentT) October 1, 2025

Sending agents provocateurs into a tense situation to create a pretext for a violent response is a tried and tested tactic for authoritarian regimes. Perversely, if this is happening in Portland, we have those working for Trump setting out to attack ICE agents to sow chaos.

But Trump is clearly determined to get his troops onto the streets of Portland regardless of what the law, local citizens, or reality says. And if that takes manufacturing a riot, burning down a few buildings, or tossing projectiles at ICE agents, so be it. The only solution is for residents to remain vigilant and record as much as possible on video before posting it to social media.