A federal court issued a restraining order on federal agents in Portland, Oregon, the American Civil Liberties Union reported in a tweet .
“A federal court just issued a restraining order on the federal agents in Portland, Oregon. We said we would deploy the full firepower of the ACLU in this fight to save our democracy — and we meant it. The ruling, which comes in a case brought by the @ACLU_OR, temporarily blocks federal agents from attacking or arresting journalists and legal observers at Portland protests. We’ll keep fighting until these protections are permanent.”
Attorneys for the city also supported the ACLU’s request. Oregon Live reported that the restraining order will last for 14 days, and it only applies to journalists or other legal observers who are documenting the unrest in Portland. The federal troops won’t be able to give dispersal orders against members of the press and other observers there legally. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon issued a similar restraining order against the city’s police force, and later he extended it through October 30.
Today’s edict will not allow federal officers to evade liability under qualified immunity for any willful violations, and it applies to all troops in the area involved with both “Operation Diligent Valor” and “ Operation Legend .” President Donald Trump announced the operations, and has said that his administration will deploy forces to various cities throughout the United States as civil unrest continues.
Simon noted that it is important for the press to continue to observe and report on what is happening in Portland.
Attorney Matthew Borden represented the state’s ACLU chapter, and he presented the court statements from at least a dozen journalists who were shot while they covered the protests and riots in the municipality. Borden claimed that they weren’t accidental wounds and that agents continued despite members of the press clearly identifying themselves.
“These are not accidents. These are not inadvertent shots,” Borden said. “These are acts of intimidation by a tyrant, and they have no place in the city of Portland, and they have no place in this country.”
Denis Vannier, the senior deputy attorney, said that there was a disconnect between the legal position for the federal forces and what was actually occurring on the streets. Vannier noted that the federal officers created a disproportionate response to the actual threat faced in the area. Portland has repeatedly asked the group to stay inside the courthouse and ultimately leave altogether.
Portland’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, was teargassed by forces earlier this week while standing with protestors outside the federal courthouse, according to a report from The Inquisitr .
