#Feds tear-gas Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler at police brutality protest

After being tear-gassed when he joined a crowd protesting police brutality, the mayor of Portland said he “saw nothing that provoked this response” — even as rioters set a federal courthouse ablaze.

“I’m not gonna lie, it stings, it’s hard to breathe, and I can tell you with 100 percent honesty I saw nothing that provoked this response,” Mayor Ted Wheeler said in a video shot by a reporter.

The Democrat, who said it was the first time he’d been gassed, coughed and drank water as he put on a pair of goggles someone handed him while surrounded by a phalanx of journalists.

Meanwhile, rioters ignited a large blaze in the space between a nearby fence and the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse — accidentally setting ablaze one of their comrades — as federal agents continued firing tear gas and stun grenades into the frenzied crowd.

“It’s nasty stuff, I’m not afraid but I am pissed off,” Wheeler said. “This is an egregious overreaction on the part of the federal officers. There was nothing that I saw anybody do that warranted this reaction.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if the federal officers were aware the mayor was in the crowd when they used the tear gas.

“As you can see, all it’s done is piss everybody off. It’s made everybody angry. They’ve come in and they kicked the hornet’s nest. This is not a de-escalation strategy. This is flat-out urban warfare and it’s being brought on the people of this country by the president of the United States,” the Democratic mayor continued.

“This is a threat to our democracy,” added the mayor, who arrived about 9 p.m. Wednesday to chants of “F— Ted Wheeler!” and “Do your job!”

Camouflage-clad agents from the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies were deployed to the city last week to protect federal monuments and buildings after nearly two months of demonstrations over police brutality and racism.

The agents have been accused of using excessive force to restrain protesters and of arresting people without probable cause.

Some Portland residents and City Council members have accused Wheeler of not reining in local police, who also have used tear gas before federal agents arrived this month in response to nightly protests since George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis.

Others, including business leaders, have slammed him for not bringing the situation under control before the federal agents showed up.

When Wheeler left the protest, around 12:40 a.m., some protesters surrounded him and shouted angrily at him as he walked away.

“You’ve got to be here every single night!” one shouted at him.

With Post wires