Video footage allegedly showing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) snipers aiming lasers at a Portland protester has gone viral.
Right-wing reporter and influencer Nick Shirley on Tuesday shared a clip of him being chased from a rally by a masked protester, who threatened to “smoke” him if he returned.
Near the end of the footage, snipers appeared to point a green laser at the man as he continued to follow Shirley.
Highlights
- DHS snipers were seen aiming green lasers at a Portland protester during a tense exchange at an ICE protest rally.
- Right-wing influencer Nick Shirley shared viral footage of a masked man threatening him amid ongoing Portland protests.
- President Trump deployed National Guard troops to Portland, calling the city “war ravaged” amid protests targeting ICE facilities.
- Oregon officials, including Gov. Tina Kotek and Mayor Keith Wilson, strongly oppose federal militarization in Portland.
The man threatened to ‘smoke’ Nick Shirley if he returned to a Portland protest
Image credits: X
“You have DHS watching you right there, it’s lasered on you, you have a sniper lasered on you right now,” Shirley could be heard saying to the man.
“I don’t give a f**k,” the man replied, going on to say, “Stop sticking your camera in people’s face.”
Two other men could be seen rushing over to the protester in an apparent attempt to defuse the situation, with one also informing the man he had a laser on him.
Image credits: X
Shirley, in a post sharing the clip on X, claimed the man was a member of Antifa—a leftist movement designated a domestic terrorist organization by President Donald Trump.
Antifa is a loosely organized anti-fascist movement and is not a single unified organization.
The footage comes amid protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in Portland, Oregon.
Federal agents were also filmed throwing pepper balls and using pepper spray against protesters confronting agents outside the facility.
Trump on Saturday announced he was deploying National Guard troops to the city and claimed it was “war ravaged” amid the protests.
“At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists. I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump’s decision to deploy troops to another U.S. state has angered local officials, and Oregon is suing Trump over the deployment.
Trump is deploying the National Guard to Portland
Image credits: Donald J Trump
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek denounced Trump’s plans, saying there is no threat to national security and no need for military troops to be deployed.
“There is no insurrection. There is no threat to national security. There is no need or legal justification for military troops in our major city. Military service members should be dedicated to real emergencies,” Kotek said on X.
“In my conversations directly with President Trump and Secretary Noem, I have been abundantly clear that Portland and the State of Oregon believe in the rule of law and can manage our own local public safety needs. There is no insurrection.”
Image credits: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson also led a coalition of more than a dozen Oregon mayors in a joint letter rejecting any attempt to federally militarize the Portland metro area.
“I am grateful for the coalition of mayors across Oregon standing with Portland to reject the unprecedented militarization of law and immigration enforcement,” Wilson said in a statement.
“We will pursue all legal and legislative options to prevent militarized federal actions that could violate constitutional rights and undermine public safety grounded in prevention, equity, and community trust.”
Image credits: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images
Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary, defended the deployment on Fox News.
“President Trump and Secretary Noem have the law on their side, and they’re here to bring law and order to the sanctuary cities where leadership has routinely failed the Americans who live there,” she said.
“When these ICE facilities are under siege, who is in these ICE facilities? It is the worst of the worst criminals. It is drug traffickers, child rapists, violent, violent criminals. It doesn’t make any sense that these protesters are trying to get these individuals out of these facilities and to disrupt operations.”
Protests outside the Portland ICE facility have increased in recent months
Image credits: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images
A report published by the Cato Institute in June said that 65% of people detained by ICE had no prior convictions and 93% had no violent convictions.
Protests outside the Portland ICE facility have increased in recent months, with some violent encounters reported.
According to the BBC, 26 people have been charged with crimes including arson, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest by the U.S. Attorney's Office as of September 8.