Donald Trump’s decision to send storm-troopers into Portland is only surprising if you haven’t been paying attention. It is only a shock if you have willfully looked past the three and a half year long assault on American democracy that the Trump administration has been. And it is only a standalone act that will not be tolerated by our courts or federalist system if you have barricaded yourself into a Pollyannaish fantasy world. A more grounded view of what is occurring in Portland and elsewhere is that with the election three and a half months away Donald Trump has telegraphed that he will use violence, security services personally loyal to him and a very dubious grasp on the Constitutional limits on his office to do whatever is necessary to intimidate his opposition and remain in office.