The Trump administration announced that the Justice Department is investigating the arrest of conservative journalist Nick Sortor during violent demonstrations targeting an ICE facility in Portland, warning the city could face serious repercussions for its handling of the unrest.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday that President Donald Trump had directed War Secretary Pete Hegseth to send troops to protect both Portland and ICE facilities nationwide.
According to Leavitt, Trump is determined to put an end to what she called the radical left’s “reign of terror” in the Oregon city.
Left-wing demonstrators have staged riots in Portland for months in opposition to the administration’s immigration enforcement policies.
The FBI’s Portland office confirmed 128 arrests tied to unrest since early June.
Leavitt detailed how Antifa militants had repeatedly attacked the ICE field office in south Portland since mid-June.
She accused rioters of smashing into the building with a stop sign, hurling explosives, and rolling a guillotine in front of the facility.
She said these actions left officers injured, residents in fear, and businesses damaged.
According to Leavitt, local officials allowed chaos to flourish, and instead of arresting violent agitators, police detained a journalist who was attempting to document events.
“Instead of arresting these violent mob members night after night who are ravaging this community, the police arrested a journalist who was there trying to document the chaos,” she said.
She confirmed that the Justice Department had spoken with Sortor and launched “a full investigation into his arrest.”
Leavitt added that Portland’s inability to contain lawlessness raised questions about its federal funding.
“We will not fund states that allow anarchy,” she said, noting that Trump was weighing which funds could be cut.
She insisted the president would ensure law and order, adding that additional ICE and Customs and Border Protection personnel would be redirected to Portland.
Authorities said Sortor was booked on a charge of disorderly conduct stemming from a fight that broke out among protesters.
The Portland Police Bureau stated officers saw three men fighting and arrested all three.
He was lodged at the Multnomah County Detention Center on disorderly conduct in the second degree.
Reports indicated that DHS officials believed Sortor could face threats if kept in the general jail population, prompting ICE agents to consider taking custody of him.
That same night, Fox News journalist Bill Melugin shared a photo of Sortor outside the ICE facility where he had been filming.
Earlier in the evening, Sortor was recorded grabbing a burning American flag, extinguishing the flames, and removing the remains from the Antifa crowd.
NEW: Last night at the Portland ICE building, we witnessed anti-ICE protesters burning an American flag. @nicksortor then grabbed it from them, put the flames out, and took away what was left of the flag. Nick was arrested later in the night by Portland PD after videos appear to… pic.twitter.com/tQVjEEkLRw
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) October 3, 2025
Video also showed him being attacked by masked agitators shortly before police intervened.
Sortor told Melugin that he had been recording footage of federal agents using mace when protesters surrounded him, shoved him into a flower bed, and one assailant threw a punch.
He said he swung back but missed, then disengaged and approached police officers for safety. Instead of being helped, he was taken into custody.
According to Sortor, he sat in the back of a police car as officers debated what charges to file.
He later noted that one of the women arrested alongside him told him in jail that she had not been the one who assaulted him.
Sortor ultimately spent the night in custody before being released early Friday morning.
He remains charged with disorderly conduct as the Justice Department reviews the circumstances of his arrest and the administration considers broader actions against Portland.
Portland Police Bureau Chief Bob Day said commented on Sortor’s arrest, claiming that there was “no political bias associated” with the department’s enforcement.
“Last night the arrests we made were based on probable cause, not individuals,” he remarked at a press conference on Friday.
“The actions we have taken this week, although it has involved some high profile folks … the reality is I know those voices have impact. It is not lost on me the context in which we are working in and attempting to negotiate.”
In response to DOJ’s threat to launch an investigation into Sortor’s arrest, he commented, “Well I would say the Department of Justice has been investigating the Portland Police Bureau since 2012.”
He also noted that the enforcement actions his department is taking is actually “designed and supported” by the DOJ under a settlement agreement.
Why does the Federal Government subsidize any of the 50 US States? They tax their Citizens with unbelievable taxes and whine and cry they need money from the Federal Government.