Violence flared in Portland, Oregon, where one person associated with a rightwing group of protesters was shot and killed on Saturday. The man was part of a caravan of conservatives supporting President Donald Trump and opposed to the Black Lives Matter protests that have taken place in Portland. So far the name of the victim and the suspected shooter have not been released. The Trump supporters shot paintballs and pepper spray from their vehicles at protesters – actions that were captured in a video that Trump tweeted. Trump assailed Portland mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, calling him “a fool,” among other things. Wheeler blamed Trump saying, “Do you seriously wonder, Mr. President,…why this is the first time in decades that America has seen this level of violence? It’s you who have created the hate and the division.” Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on Sunday left open the possibility of redeploying federal troops to Portland despite the fact that such troops only served to heighten tensions earlier in the summer. Trump, who has painted himself as a “law-and-order” candidate, seized on the issue. 

Trump will visit Kenosha, Wisconsin on Tuesday where a 17-year old white shooter has been arrested in the killing of two white activists protesting police brutality. Even though Wisconsin’s governor and Kenosha’s mayor have opposed his visit, Trump appears determined to insert himself into the matter. To try to counter the protests against the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a pro-police march took place in Kenosha on Sunday.  Meanwhile police and protesters once more clashed in Washington DC near the street outside the White House that earlier this year was renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza. Early on Monday morning police once more deployed tear gas on people despite its serious health risks. According to the Washington Post, “Officers were seen slamming people against parked vehicles and pinning others against the sidewalk.” In Southern California where this program is based, a pro-Trump car caravan drove from Woodland Hills to Studio City and police are investigating reports of gunfire.  

Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden on Sunday responded to Trump saying that the President was “fanning the flames of hate and division in our society” and “recklessly encouraging violence.” In a statement released by his campaign the former Vice President implored Americans to, “not become a country at war with ourselves…But that is the America that President Trump wants us to be, the America he believes we are. … All of us are less safe because Donald Trump can’t do the job of the American president.” Biden