Portland mayor says AG Barr's threat to arrest city officials is 'befitting of a totalitarian regime'

Following reports that Attorney General William Barr’s Justice Department looked into arresting Portland, Ore., city officials, as well as Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan, following Black Lives Matter protests, Portland mayor Ted Wheeler responded, calling it “befitting of a totalitarian regime.” Wheeler also responded to reports that Barr urged federal prosecutors to charge protesters arrested for violent crimes with sedition. This would effectively charge them with conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government. Wheeler called such a charge a threat to the First Amendment and to the right to publicly protest. Rather than embrace these measures, Wheeler called on President Trump to embrace this as a leadership opportunity.