South Portland residents are bracing for an escalation of conflict and federal involvement after months of small nightly protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building that occasionally culminated in clashes with federal police.

Oregon’s governor received notice Sunday morning from the U.S. Department of Defense that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was federalizing the state’s National Guard and mobilizing 200 members for the next two months. (None were at the building as of Sunday evening, a state military official said.)

On Saturday night, hours after President Donald Trump authorized sending federal troops to Oregon to protect “War ravaged Portland,” people throughout South Portland heard large helicopters circling noisily.

“In all the months of demonstra

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