State sues over federal law officers

PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon’s attorney general is seeking an order to stop militarized federal agents from arresting people in Portland as the city continues to be convulsed by protests that have gone on for seven weeks and have now pitted local officials against the Trump administration.

Federal agents, some wearing camouflage or dark Homeland Security uniforms, used tear gas at least twice to break up crowds late Friday night, the Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

Demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality have happened daily in Oregon’s largest city since Minneapolis police killed George Floyd on May 25. President Trump has denounced the disorder, and Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf blasted the protesters as “lawless anarchists” in a visit to the city.

Before the aggressive language and action from federal officials, the unrest had frustrated Mayor Ted Wheeler and other local authorities, who had said a small cadre of violent activists were drowning out the message of peaceful protesters in the city. But Wheeler said the federal presence in the city is now exacerbating a tense situation and he has told them to depart.

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum sued Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service in federal court late Friday. The complaint asserts unidentified federal agents have grabbed people off Portland’s streets “without warning or explanation, without a warrant, and without providing any way to determine who is directing this action.”

Rosenblum said she was seeking a temporary restraining order to “immediately stop federal authorities from unlawfully detaining Oregonians.”

“The current escalation of fear and violence in downtown Portland is being driven by federal law enforcement tactics that are entirely unnecessary,” Rosenblum said in a statement.

The administration has enlisted federal agents, including the U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group and an elite U.S. Customs and Border Protection team based on the U.S.Mexico border, to protect federal property.

But Oregon Public Broadcasting reported last week that some agents had been driving around in unmarked vans and snatching protesters from streets not near federal property, without identifying themselves.

Tensions also escalated after an officer with the Marshals Service fired a lesslethal round at a protester’s head on July 11, critically injuring him.

On Friday night, hundreds of people gathered for a vigil outside the downtown Justice Center, which is sandwiched between two federal buildings, including a courthouse, the Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

Federal agents emerged from an office building and used impact munitions, stun grenades and tear gas to clear the area, the news organization reported. It said its journalists did not observe any incident that might have prompted the use of the weapons.

Early Saturday, Portland police declared the gathering unlawful. Federal officers and local police then advanced on the demonstrators to clear the streets, making arrests as protesters threw bottles and pieces of metal fence at police, the Portland Police Bureau said. Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said his officers are in contact with the federal agents but that neither controls the others’ actions.