Oregon’s Top Military Official Testifies National Guard Will Protect ‘Protesters at ICE Facility’
Nightly “protests” — often turning violent — outside Portland’s ICE field office have raged for months, with many participants identified as members of Antifa.
In testimony before an Oregon State Senate Veterans and Emergency Preparedness subcommittee last week, Brigadier General Alan R. Gronewold, the state’s top military official, told lawmakers that National Guard troops “will be protecting any protesters at the [Portland] ICE facility. That’s my desire.”
With many of these so-called “protesters” linked to Antifa, the general is, in effect, saying that National Guard troops, if deployed, would be protecting members of a group the Trump administration has designated as a domestic terrorist organization.
Asked what role the troops would play if federalized under Title X, Gronewold replied:
I don’t want to speculate on what level of training they will receive or what they will be authorized to perform as far as rules for the use of force. The Title X headquarters will provide that training to them.
It is my understanding, however, that protective crowd control will be one of the things they’re trained on, and I will provide my advice to the Title X commander.
The Oregon National Guard men and women serve two purposes: one, to defend America, and two, to protect Oregonians. So, by serving in this mission, they will be protecting any protesters at the ICE facility. That’s my desire.
Now, to answer your question — “full force” is not a doctrinal term that the Army uses, so I’m not sure exactly what that means, and I don’t want to speculate as to what level of force they will be allowed to use.
LOYALTY? Brigadier General Gronewold of the Oregon National Guard made it clear he believes he has a DUAL duty to protect America and Oregonians – and he believes that includes the Antifa protesters. If federalized he testified that he would protect the insurgents. pic.twitter.com/VmRjZGGrYJ
— @amuse (@amuse) October 8, 2025
While Gronewold’s extraordinary remarks may have been music to the ears of state lawmakers, they directly contradict President Donald Trump’s rationale — as commander in chief — for activating the National Guard.
Conservatives “pounced” as the Left is so fond of saying.
“Court Marshal this treasonous General,” Trump associate Roger Stone wrote on X.
Independent journalist Lara Logan asked, “How can he “protect” people from the law? If they break the law, they are supposed to be held accountable. Sounds like sedition to me.”
Retired Col. Rob Maness noted, “His duty is to the Constitution not to insurgents.”
Nightly “protests” — often turning violent — outside Portland’s ICE field office have raged for months, with many participants identified as members of Antifa. According to a White House news release:
Since early June, Antifa militants have laid siege to the ICE field office in south Portland. The terrorists have violently breached the facility by using a stop sign as a battering ram, hurled explosives and projectiles, burned American flags, viciously assaulted, attacked, and injured officers, doxed officers, berated neighbors, and even rolled out a guillotine.
The Trump administration has tried to deploy National Guard troops to the city to end the violence, but far-left local and state leaders refuse to even acknowledge, let alone confront, the unrest.
Elected officials continue to gaslight the public by framing Portland as calm and orderly. In the video below, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) claims that the violence in Portland is fake and is actually being staged by federal law enforcement as a pretext to deploy National Guard troops. He tells constituents, “It’s Trump creating the chaos because he wants violence and chaos to justify more authoritarian power. This is an incredibly perilous moment for our nation.”
Oregon Democrat Senator (and conspiracy theorist) Jeff Merkley says the violence in Portland is fake and is actually being staged by law enforcement:
“They start throwing down pepperballs and teargas to film it to try to create the impression of chaos.” pic.twitter.com/RRPIL2NNOm
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 7, 2025
And, in a scene reminiscent of Gov. Pritzker’s carefully choreographed “morning stroll” along Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive — his attempt to prove the city’s safety after a particularly bloody Labor Day weekend — Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-OR) recorded a video from Portland’s Broadway Bridge, describing the city as “peaceful.” State Rep. Dwayne Yunker (R-OR) edited the clip, overlaying it with footage that exposed the chaos she’d conveniently left out.
And all the while, these politicians have been aided and abetted by a network of equally far-left federal judges. On Saturday, District Court Judge Karin Immergut, surprisingly a Trump appointee, temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying Oregon National Guard troops to quell the violence in Portland, claiming that Trump’s description of the city as a “war zone” was “simply untethered to the facts.” Conditions on the ground, she said, were not sufficiently “violent or disruptive” to warrant the presence of federal troops.
When the Trump administration tried to deploy Texas and California National Guard troops (to Oregon) on Sunday, the judge issued a second restraining order blocking any National Guard troops from serving in the state.
In a Sunday night statement, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said, “President Trump’s actions are an effort to occupy and incite cities and states that don’t share his politics, and I believe that we should expect him to continue to push the limits of his authority. The President can expect Oregon to stand up to him at every turn.”
I don’t doubt the governor means what she says.
On Wednesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an administrative stay on Judge Immergut’s first order, the one blocking the deployment of Oregon National Guard troops.
The stay was a temporary procedural move that allows the troops to remain under federal control while the court reviews the case, but it did not allow their deployment.
[On Thursday] The panel held a hearing for oral arguments on the administration’s appeal. During the hearing, judges appeared skeptical of the district court’s decision, but no ruling to lift the TRO has been issued.
The state then sued the Trump Administration to stop the deployment of troops.
As the legal battle plays out, those who actually live and work in Portland describe a city in distress. Portland business owner Amy Nichols told Fox News her establishment had recently been broken into for the tenth time. “We need help here and something needs to be done, so if [the National Guard] is what we need to do to get our leaders paying attention to what’s happening in Portland, then I think it’s a good thing. We’ve been struggling for a long time — since 2020.”
The owner of a Portland coffee shop said, “We struggle every day, every week, with the crime and the drugs and just the unsafeness that comes with being here in our city right now. It’s like our leaders have abandoned public safety for us.”
Another city resident noted, “Look at our streets — there’s homelessness, they’re full of garbage, businesses are leaving. We are not a thriving city. Our city is falling. It’s horrible.”
A republic cannot stand when public servants abandon the laws they are sworn to enforce. From Gen. Gronewold to Oregon’s governor, the line between dissent and disorder has become blurred. At a certain point, resistance ceases to be dissent and becomes insurrection.
It appears these individuals have already crossed that line.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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Comments
“National Guard troops will be protecting any protesters at the Portland ICE facility”
Protecting from what?
Perhaps the good general is speaking of protecting the Illegals who may be there protesting being deported. In that case, they will be protected from being deported. They may throw bricks at ICE, ram their cars into ICE vehicles, spit on ICE agents, resist arrest, but don’t worry—the National Guard will have your backs!
Not a surprise. He would not have risen to his rank if he thought otherwise in a place like Oregon.
It’s all lies, all the time from the Left.
I really don’t get this.
Where the hell is the Supreme Court to rein in these traitors
I agree with Roger Stone. Court marshall the insubordinate asshole and throw his ass into Leavenworth for 20 years.
Frankly I;m beyond appalled by the democrats with their willingness to throw their law abiding citizens under the bus and protect illegal aliens, criminals, and violent insurrectionists. Unfortunately there doesn’t appear much that can be done especially with the out of control progressive district courts,
This is not going to end well at all for all concerned. I hope the progressive officials at least get the bad ending they so richly deserve and I hope it is very violent.
What offense (specific article) do you allege he has committed under the UCMJ?
difficult for me not being either a lawyer or military, but….
how’s about articles 89, 91, 94 if he is given an order to protect federal facilities and refuses and/or protect violent protesters.
assuming he is the highest guardsman in oregon he essentially reports to both the governor and the feds. However, if oregon national guard is federalized I can’t see where he can refuse orders to protect federal facilities which is what he is asked to do. If he is asked to police that would be something different.
1. He has never said, implied, or intimated that he would ever refuse a lawful order. On the contrary, he told the legislature that the guard would obey all lawful orders, and he wrote to the guardsmen themselves that regardless of their personal beliefs their loyalty must be to the mission.
2. As he told the legislature, if the guard is federalized it would no longer be under his command. He would not be giving it any orders at all.
3. He himself is not under the president’s command. He is responsible only to the governor; she appointed him, and she is the only person who can fire him.
His testimony is being deliberately misrepresented by right-wing muckrakers, and this post is joining the mob. Read what he said, not what the muckrakers are putting in his mouth. There is nothing objectionable.
Appointment to become a general officer in the National Guard is not as simple as “the governor appoints him.” The governor may appoint a general to the adjutant position in the State’s NG, but does not promote anyone to one-star rank (O-7). Whether the colonel being promoted to general is in the RA (regular Army) or the Guard, the promotion to general goes through a promotion board to get on a list, the POTUS nominates individuals from the list for promotion, and the nomination must be approved by the Senate. No flag officer (rank O-7 and above, entitled to fly their own command flag) is promoted to one-star rank except via nomination by the POTUS and approval by the Senate.
The POTUS is the Commander in Cheif of ALL military personnel and can fire any one at any time. Even though the governor is the CiC while under state authority, once they are federalized, the POTUS is the CIC.
Milhouse, if he is federalized, command transfers from the governor to the president.
Hang on, in your original post you demanded an immediate court martial for him b/c you claim he’s an ‘insubordinate a-hole’ and a 20 year sentence in Leavenworth.
I asked what article of the UCMJ he violated to support a court martial and a 20 year sentence and you come up with prospective, potential future crimes?
How about we wait and see what he DOES then we can determine if those future actions fit the specific criteria to be an offense of the UCMJ. Then we can charge, try, convict and sentence this guy…which he would deserve at that point b/c he’d have committed actual v potential offenses.
I have no trouble with waiting. I doubt he’s going anywhere.
However, I don’t see why he can’t be removed from his position for loss of confidence. It seems every day someone in command is removed for loss of confidence. Such removals may always have happened but they’ve been pretty public now through multiple administrations.
His superior is the Governor of Oregon b/c he’s the Adjutant General of the Oregon NG. He doesn’t report to Trump nor do the Units of the Oregon NG until/unless those Units are brought into Federal Service. The WH doesn’t get to choose whether this guy remains as the AG for the Oregon NG that’s for the State of Oregon and its Governor to decide.
The system is broken. In Oregon the government doesn’t protect its tax paying citizens. It allows you to commit anti-government acts and intimidate the citizenry if you’re antifa. It protects illegal aliens from deportation by the feds even though the state does not have jurisdiction over border control or immigration. etc…. I’m frankly appalled by the behavior of politicians in democrat controlled cities and states. I’m beyond appalled not that what I think or feel matters in the slightest to anyone in government especially in MA where I live.
It’s court martial, not “marshall.” Good grief!
Thank you for your contribution Charley Brown.
I guess that is why Guardsmen from a different state are sent in. It keeps appointed buffoon’s like this one star in line.
FYI: The top guard position is a politically appointed position by the Governor.
Yes, that’s true of the appointment, but not promotion to the rank. See my comment above..
General Gronewold will do what he’s ordered to do and he will do it to the satisfaction of his superior officers without complaint or delay.
If he’s not willing to do so, he can expect to be court marshalled and punished accordingly.
Who the (bleep) does he think he is?
His only “superior officer” is the governor.
And he explicitly said that the guard would obey all lawful orders. So where is this “disobeying orders” nonsense coming from? You people are making it up.
(Obviously unlawful orders must be disobeyed. A soldier has a duty to disobey patently unlawful orders.)
Straight from the horse’s mouth:
“One, to defend America, and two, to protect Oregonians. And so by serving in this mission, they will be protecting any protesters at the ICE facility.”
The general misunderstands the mission. There would be no need of his presence at the ICE facility if there weren’t protesters.
And I also wish to point out the profound difference between a protester exercising his first amendment rights and a protester engaging in criminal behavior to actively obstruct the enforcement of federal law.
If I ever find myself in need of a defense attorney you’ll be the first person I call because you have a god given gift of righteously defending the indefensible with a genius for rationalization.
Insubordination. Wish they would rip his retirement from his disloyal hands.
Insubordination to whom? And in what way? He is responsible only to the governor. And he has told his troops that if they are federalized, and thus no longer under his command, they must be obey all lawful orders and be loyal to the mission they are given.
Sounds like the Oregon National Guard is about to get federalized.
SR Military make statements like this all the time. One can read into it ‘hey this guy is on the side of the leftists’ just as easily as ‘this guy is gonna seek to do his duty, follow orders while ensuring the rights to peacefully protest are adhered to’. I’d suggest we all slow down and see what happens and what this guy does before we rush to pre judge his actions. If he goes around the bend in his actions there’s plenty of ways to deal with that if it occurs and when/if he does go loopy there will be solid, objective evidence/facts to support his removal.
“On 11 April 1951, U.S. President Harry S. Truman relieved General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of his commands after MacArthur made public statements that contradicted the administration’s policies. MacArthur was a popular hero of World War II who was then commander of United Nations Command forces fighting in the Korean War”
MacArthur was under Truman’s command. Gronewold is not under anyone’s command except the governor. And what he said is exactly what CommoChief paraphrased: ‘this guy is gonna seek to do his duty, follow orders while ensuring the rights to peacefully protest are adhered to’. Though if the guard is federalized he will have no role at all, so he’ll be sitting it out.
So what you are saying is that if the Guard is Federalized, the officers won’t be federalized as well? Can you give me a cite for that? It seems odd.
Units are brought onto Federal orders not individuals as a rule. Unless you have new info the entire Oregon NG has NOT been brought into Federal service. So far as we are now aware this guy hasn’t been brought into Federal service. For that matter NG Units brought into Federal Service still take orders from the Gov b/c ALL orders flow from POTUS through the Governor (State Military Dept) to the Unit(s) that were brought into Federal Service. IOW the Gov remains his superior even if POTUS is de facto giving orders.
“ gen gronewold, you are relieved”
By whom? Only the governor can fire him.
The Feds can’t fire him but they could withdraw ‘Federal recognition’ of his fitness to serve at that rank/duty position. That would make him ineligible to serve in the organized militia aka NG. The Governor could appoint him to the same rank in the unorganized Militia (a rank like Col Sanders had) and pay him out of State Funds but I’m 99% sure he couldn’t maintain his current position or give orders to NG (organized militia) under that scenario.
Is this not an insurrection?
No, it is the exact opposite. It’s an officer correctly stating his role and his duty, and his people’s role and duty, and his understanding of what their mission is likely to be if and when they’re federalized and taken out of his command.
He said he would protect the rioting insurrectionist “antifa” against federal officers carrying out federal law which trumps state and local law. Is that not the definition of insurrection?
He is basically saying that anyone withdrawing cash from a bank is just a customer, even if the withdrawal was done at gunpoint.
I guess all of Oregon has seceded from the Union. At least now they have professional soldiers to defend the tiny country, maybe China will send troops to help defend the borders too.
Good luck Oregon, you’ll need it.
Probably not “all of Oregon.” Having lived in both Eastern and Western Oregon, there a cultural divide as well as a geographic divide. That is why many in both Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington have for years wished that they could merge with their neighbors in Idaho.
This may be “only“ the National Guard. But keep in mind, upper military echelon follows orders. Yes, the military can and probably will turn against us when the Civil War becomes hot.
Oregon and Washington are filled with “Wobblies” or the International Wood Workers union…the IWW.
Here in non-union land we call the IWW the “I Won’t Work”
They are communists.
The Wobblies are the Industrial Workers of the World. Leslie Fish is or used to be one.
Original IWW was International Workers of the World. My grandmother called them I won’t work. Didn’t know they were still a thing.
This entire post is seriously misrepresenting his testimony. Read what he actually said, not what some right-wing know-nothing is putting in his mouth. He said that if the guard is federalized it would not be under his command, but that he expected it would be trained in “protective crowd control” and then sent to ‘protectively control” the anti-ICE crowds. And that the guardsmen would obey all lawful orders. Thus, by keeping the protesters from breaking the law, it would be protecting them. He also wrote to the guardsmen exhorting them to be loyal to the mission they’re given, even if they don’t like it.
I think there’s a hair that needs split here. ALL law enforcement at the site operate under two general rules:
1. We protect protesters.
2. We arrest rioters and other criminals. (which include illegal aliens)
The general is politically ambiguous. Classic double speak so that everyone hears what they THINK he said. This is Oregon and his primary leader is the Democrat gov. He will protect whomever the gov directs him to.
A page from the British police protect the demonstrators, arrest the protesters if their not Leftists.
“Court Marshal this treasonous General,” Trump associate Roger Stone wrote on X.
That reminds me of the line from the series Band of Brothers, when Lt. Winters is served with a paper accusing him of insubordination. Lewis Nixon reads it and comments “He misspelled Court-Martial”. The ignorance spreads further every year.