The Oregonian reports:

For weeks, it was unclear how Oregon leaders could defuse the increasingly violent standoff between federal officers and protesters in downtown Portland and convince Homeland Security officers to leave.

Gov. Kate Brown’s administration says that proved relatively easy in the end because the Trump administration was clearly looking for a way out.

Trump administration officials did not demand any concessions or pledges from Brown before they agreed officers would depart, Brown’s chief of staff Nik Blosser told The Oregonian/OregonLive Wednesday.

“They’re not gonna walk in and say, ‘We screwed up,’” Blosser said. “But every action they took in the last week implied that, that they needed a different strategy.”

With Portland police prohibited since July 22 from coordinating with federal officers, officers from Homeland Security and Customs and Border Control faced an increasingly dangerous situation. “They know every time they step out of the building, let alone step into the street, they get in trouble and they know that just strategically, the city of Portland won’t even talk to them because of their actions,” Blosser said.

Meanwhile the protests grew larger and increasingly focused on Oregonians’ opposition to federal law enforcement tactics. [Continue reading…]