Two days after a demonstrator was critically wounded by a federal law enforcement official who fired an impact munition at the mans head, President Donald Trump praised federal authorities here for doing a great job.

Portland was totally out of control, and they went in, and I guess we have many people right now in jail and we very much quelled it, and if it starts again, well quell it again very easily, said Trump during a public appearance Monday at the White House. Its not hard to do, if you know what youre doing.

The incident Saturday left Donavan La Bella, 26, with skull and facial fractures, his mother said. She said her son underwent facial reconstructive surgery early Sunday.

Though the president said many people have been jailed here as a result of protests, U.S. Attorney for Oregon Billy J. Williams on Monday estimated that a dozen people have been arrested on federal charges, including arson and assaulting a federal officer.

Trump did not address how federal authorities plan to approach Portland protests as they continue.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler on Monday said he remains deeply concerned about the actions of federal law enforcement officials and said La Bellas injuries at the hands of a federal officer were unacceptable.

Wheeler said that while he doesnt want federal law enforcement officials to complicate already tense nightly protests, he lacks the authority to tell them to stay away.

They report to the federal government and they have jurisdiction throughout the United States, he said.

The incident places new scrutiny on federal involvement in policing protests in downtown Portland, where courts have restricted local police but not federal agents from using crowd control munitions against nonviolent protesters.

The U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General will investigate what led Marshals Service deputies to shoot impact munitions at La Bella, said Williams.

That investigation needs to be thorough, and it will be, said Williams, Oregons top federal law enforcement official.

Like Williams office, the U.S. Marshal Service in Oregon is part of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The agency, which serves as the enforcement arm of the federal courts, provides protection for judges and other court officials, arrests federal fugitives and operates the federal witness protection program.

The Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse in downtown Portland sits next to the Multnomah County Justice Center, the heart of nightly protests since late May. The courthouse was fenced off from protesters for weeks. Protesters tore down the chain link fence several times in June. Federal officers did not pour out of the courthouse and use force during those incidents.

In recent days, federal officers have staged inside the courthouse and emerged from it to deploy stun grenades or shoot impact munitions.

Videos posted to social media over the weekend appear to show a federal officer shooting a protester in the head with an impact munition outside of the courthouse.

One video shows La Bella holding a speaker while standing across the street from the courthouse between two parked cars. Federal officers throw a canister that lands at his feet, which he lightly tosses away from him back in the direction it came. It lands partway across the street.

A few seconds later, a firing sound can be heard, and La Bella collapses to the ground, dropping the speaker. The video shows no sign of aggressive provocation on the part of the protester, who appeared to be standing alone.

Another video shows La Bella bleeding on the sidewalk and apparently unconscious after being struck in the face. Several protesters rush to check on him and carry him away, revealing the splatters of blood on the sidewalk. The officers are shown standing across the street and are not reacting.

The top U.S. Marshals official in Oregon is Russell Burger. Burger was appointed in 2011 and was retained in 2017 for another four years by President Donald Trump. He previously served as Lane County sheriff.

Burger answers to the director of the U.S. Marshals Service, Donald W. Washington, a former U.S. attorney in Louisiana who was appointed by Trump to lead the service three years ago.

The U.S. Marshals Service in Washington, D.C., on Monday referred questions about the incident to the agencys Portland office. Burger on Monday did not respond to an email from The Oregonian/OregonLive. The news organization sent questions to a spokeswoman for the agency but did not get an immediate response.

In addition to the U.S. Marshals Service, law enforcement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have also been present at the protests.

The Department of Homeland Security has not responded to multiple requests about the role of its officers at the protests.

Wheeler on Monday said he doesnt have a problem with federal law enforcement policing federal buildings from inside.

What I have a problem with them is leaving the facilities, going onto the streets of this community and then escalating an already tense situation like they did the other night, Wheeler said.

Impact munitions, like the foam-tipped and plastic projectiles used by Portland police, are generally intended to be fired at arms and legs to prevent serious injury. Portland police directives restrict officers from using impact munitions to target a persons head, neck or throat unless deadly force is authorized. Additionally, police cant use impact munitions to control crowds without supervisor permission or the threat of death or serious injury.

And under a temporary court order, Portland police may not use less-lethal impact weapons unless officers believe lives or safety are at risk. Theyre specifically barred from using the munitions against people engaged in passive resistance.

Those restrictions do not, however, apply to federal law enforcement.

During an appearance in Portland on Monday, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, accused Trump of dispatching federal authorities into cities as if they are enemy stronghold requiring an occupying army to suppress.

Wyden said he plans to press Trump and federal authorities to answer the question about why he sent federal law enforcement in the first place to our community and we are going to insist on answers as to what their orders were and who they answer to.

On Monday, Williams in general defended the federal response to the protests, calling it a very conservative approach. He said that response had been largely limited to keeping tabs on federal buildings to ensure no one tried to enter them. He said the approach, however, shifted more than a week ago when someone broke the courthouse doors.

We cant have people entering the federal courthouse hellbent on destruction, he said. That is not going to happen.

Williams said a teen who aimed a laser at a federal law enforcement official was apprehended and was turned over to the Multnomah County juvenile court for prosecution.

Early Saturday morning, a 23-year-old man allegedly assaulted a U.S. Marshals Service deputy with a hammer. According to court records, Jacob M. Gaines used the tool to damage the entrance of the courthouse and struck U.S. Marshals Service deputy when confronted. Gaines, who told authorities he is homeless, is accused of assaulting a federal officer.

Williams on Monday said he told Wheeler that city and civic leaders need to make a concerted effort to end violent aspects to nightly protests in Portland. He characterized the actions of some demonstrators as mindless lawlessness.

They are agitators, he said. They are anarchists, they are people engaged in unlawful behavior and violent, unlawful behavior toward Portland police officers, toward federal agents, towards buildings of all kinds public and privately owned.

Oregonian reporter K. Rambo contributed to this report.

-- Noelle Crombie; ncrombie@oregonian.com; 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie

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Trump says feds in Portland have done a great job on protests - OregonLive