Federal Judge Blocks Trump from Deploying National Guard to Portland, Says Anti-ICE Protests Haven’t Gotten Violent Enough Yet

Antifa has not yet been sufficiently violent in Portland, Oregon, that anyone other than sympathetic Portland police officers should be deployed to contain it, according to a federal judge.

In a Sunday night ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Karin J. Immergut blocked the deployment of the National Guard, which President Donald Trump wanted to patrol the streets of violence-racked Portland to protect federal immigration agents who have been the subjects of months of violent protests.

The judge, nominated by Trump, gave the city of Portland and the states of Oregon and California a preliminary injunction that will be in effect until her Friday ruling, according to KATU.

Immergut’s injunction tips her hand that she is likely to rule against Trump.

WARNING: The following videos contains vulgar language that may offend some readers. 

🚨 BREAKING: Just MINUTES after Portland Police left for the night, Antifa terrorists began hitting and BLOCKING DHS vehicles as they were leaving the ICE facility

THIS is why the National Guard is so badly needed.

The terrorist was able to run and flee in an unplated Honda… pic.twitter.com/xHhaDU4lhA

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) November 2, 2025

The judge said that during the months of protests, violence was “sporadic.”

She ruled that “there’s no credible evidence that during the approximately two months before the President’s federalization order, protests grew out of control or involved more than isolated and sporadic instances of violent conduct that resulted in no serious injuries to federal personnel.”

Protests from June 15 and Sept. 27 were “generally uneventful,” she said.

Stray bits of law-breaking were contained by local and federal authorities already on the scene, she ruled.

🚨 NOW: The power at ICE Portland and surrounding buildings has been CUT, and the cause has NOT been made public

Luckily, ICE has backup generators, so if this was intentional, the act failed miserably.

Power has been out for THREE HOURS now, and Portland General Electric has… pic.twitter.com/p5Y6xVjuso

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) November 3, 2025

Although there were instances of unlawful behavior, the judge noted that local and federal law enforcement were able to manage the situation.

Although protests have often closed the driveway of a U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Immergut said the record shows that the driveway is cleared and that ICE was able to move to another location, meaning that even if a mob chased ICE out of its offices, it could still perform its functions.

Although the Trump administration referred to the antifa-led protests as a rebellion, the judge said it did not meet her definition of one.

Immergut said Portland police are the best ones to decide how to deal with the anti-Trump protesters.

Breaking — Antifa militants hunt down federal agents as they attempt to leave the ICE facility in Portland.

Agitators block their vehicles, resulting in ICE SRT officers rescuing their colleagues. pic.twitter.com/geOhvFyVx4

— Katie Daviscourt 📸 (@KatieDaviscourt) November 2, 2025

“Based on trial testimony that this Court found credible, particularly the testimony of Portland Police Bureau command staff, who work in Portland and have first-hand knowledge of the crowds at the ICE building from June to the present, the protests in Portland at the time of the National Guard call outs are likely not a ‘rebellion,’ and likely do not pose a danger of rebellion,” she wrote, according to Fox News.

Portland is on record as being biased, writing on a city website, “The City of Portland has publicly opposed the use of excessive force by federal agents and the broader enforcement approach of the Trump Administration, emphasizing that all people — including those impacted by immigration actions and those who peacefully protest — deserve to be treated with dignity, fairness, and respect.”

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