“Feds stay clear, moms are here!" protesters chanted outside the federal courthouse in Portland on Sunday.

How Chicago demonstrators pushed back the police on July 17, winning an opportunity to try to topple a hated statue of Christopher Columbus.

Local police unions appear to be going around the elected officials who oversee their departments to work with federal agents to crack down on protesters in some cities. Leaders in Chicago and Portland have publicly disavowed federal law enforcement policing…