Portland city councilor stands by call for National Guard to disobey orders

Portland City Councilor Mitch Green reaffirmed his call for National Guard troops to reject deployment orders, responding to Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s assertion that Guardsmen must follow the chain of command regardless of her personal objections.

“I respectfully disagree with the terminology in the oath of service,” Green told CNN on Tuesday.

“The oath of service says that you are obligated to follow the Constitution. You are to protect and serve the Constitution. Your duty is to the Constitution, and there may be times when you face an order from your chain of command that is illegal,” he said.

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“Whether or not you follow that order in the moment is going to be a decision that any given soldier or airman or Marine is going to have to make based upon their moral compass,” he added.

Green previously called on National Guard members to “disobey” any “unlawful order,” arguing they have a “duty” to do so.

He told CNN he had never rejected a deployment or an order during his time in the military but noted he was never “faced with a clearly illegal order to deploy to an American city.”

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Green’s recent remarks came a day after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted one of two temporary restraining orders (TROs) impeding National Guard deployments to Portland.

Since the decision does not extend to both orders, Kotek argues that National Guard members from Oregon or any other state “cannot deploy” until the second is overturned, NPR reported.

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While Green said neither he nor his office have heard directly from members of the military, he said veterans with connections to active-duty troops have reported “confusion,” claiming many are “wondering if this is what they signed up for.”

“I expect, in the days to come, in the weeks to come, when troops do show up, if that’s the case … that, every morning, troops are going to wake up and think about, ‘Is this really in line with the Constitution?’”

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Green added that he is “100% prepared” to connect soldiers who make the choice to defy the order with resources that exist to help them navigate the legal risk associated with their decision.

“The National Lawyers Guild Military Law Task Force has a website and a one-pager that members of the service are allowed to have as a pamphlet, one copy on their person that connects them to resources,” he said.

“Of course, it’s a legal risk that they will have to take, but they are not alone in a community of people who’ve made this decision, and we will have their backs.”