One senior official in President Donald Trump's administration was recently seen texting about sensitive military plans to one of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's top aides in a highly public setting.
That's according to a Friday article by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune's Andy Mannix, who reported that he obtained the messages from an unnamed source who was in close proximity to Anthony Salisbury — an aide to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Salisbury was seen using the Signal app to text Hegseth advisor Patrick Weaver, along with "other high-ranking federal officials," per Mannix's report. One White House spokesperson told the outlet that Salisbury was in Minnesota to be a pallbearer at his uncle's funeral.
While Trump had already deployed 200 National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon last week, the administration is also reportedly considering the deployment of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division to the Democratic-run city. This would be a significant escalation of the administration's use of the military on U.S. soil — as well as a likely violation of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 (which prohibits the military from conducting domestic law enforcement activities).
Weaver reportedly told Salisbury that while Hegseth runs the Pentagon, he was waiting for an explicit order from Trump before deploying the 82nd, out of fear that it would result in a firestorm of negative media coverage.
"Between you and I, I think Pete just wants the top cover from the boss if anything goes sideways with the troops there," Weaver wrote. “...82nd is like our top tier [quick reaction force] for abroad. So it will cause a lot of headlines. Probably why he wants [Trump] to tell him to do it.”
The Trump administration has claimed that protesters in Portland have "laid siege" to its detention facility, though the only examples it gave were a protester shining a laser in the eyes of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents; one protester throwing a smoke grenade and one who kicked at several ICE agents while being arrested. Gov. Tina Kotek (D) has insisted that there is "no national security threat" in Portland, and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson stated that "the president will not find lawlessness or violence here unless he plans to perpetrate it."
The 82nd Airborne Division has been used to quell riots in the past, most notably in 1968, after riots broke out in multiple cities following the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The unit is known for its ability to deploy anywhere in the country within 18 hours, and is known for participating in some of history's most pivotal battles — including the "D-Day" storming of France in 1944.
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