Reddit's Pro-Trump Contingent Wants To Put Mayor Wheeler in Jail

Sarah Petersen / PBOT

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Mayor Ted Wheeler has been busy fending off Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials (and non-officials) this week. First, the federal agency's union sent him a cease and desist letter, claiming he had banned Portland police from responding to calls for service from ICE agents working during the recent Occupy ICE protest.

Then Wheeler's office responded, calling the accusations "inaccurate and inflammatory." The Oregonian's bizarrely conservative editorial board called him out for using the police department as his "own personal army."

The exchange has garnered national attention, with Fox News jumping to ICE's defense.

And now: Trumpies from across the country are demanding that Wheeler be put in jail. Internet Trumpies, at least.

It began when someone shared an article from the conservative blog the Daily Caller on Reddit. Specifically, the Reddit user posted a story about the back-and-forth between Wheeler and ICE on the subreddit /r/The_Donald, a cesspool of islamophobia, mindless nationalism, and white supremacy masquerading as a fan page for the president. "PUT HIM IN JAIL!" the post declares. More than 3,000 users voted in support of this demand.

Trump and his backers, of course, are known for their loathing of "sanctuary cities" like Portland that discourage city employees from upholding federal immigration laws or assisting federal immigration officers. Trump's administration even once considered arresting any mayor upholding sanctuary city rules.

One Reddit commenter who claims to be a Portland police officer wrote "That fucker needs the US Marshalls [sic] to come visit him and have his ass hauled off."

Other commenters showed incredible misunderstandings about the situation here in town, asking each other if their supreme leader could call Federal police to defend ICE—even though Federal police came to defend ICE here weeks ago.

The vitriol has made Wheeler come across as a radical progressive on the national stage—clashing with the image local lefties have of him. Often criticized for not being far enough left, especially when he's asking for more police officers or keeping Portland in the controversial Joint Terrorism Task Force, he might catch a break from leftists after being lambasted by right-wingers and Faux News.