Judge ciTes Trump TweeTs in resTricTing feds aT proTesTs Navy commandos rescue American kidnapped in Niger.

PORTLAND, ORE. » A federal judge found Friday that tweets by President Donald Trump helped incite improper conduct by federal officers responding to racial justice demonstrations in Portland, Ore., and he directed both sides in a lawsuit to determine “rules of engagement” for officers acting outside a U. S. courthouse.

U. S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman granted a preliminary injunction on a First Amendment claim in the case against the U. S. Department of Homeland Security filed by two state lawmakers, the Portland- based Western States Center, a church and a legal observer, The Oregonian/ OregonLive reported.

However, Mosman rejected their claim that the federal officers violated the 10th Amendment’s separation of powers.

The judge said the rules might include prohibiting direct tear gassing or pepper spraying of nonviolent protesters and avoiding knocking down nonviolent protesters or chasing those who are separate from violent agitators. He said the officers also must have probable cause to arrest people.

WASHINGTON » U. S. Special Operations commandos carried out a predawn raid Saturday to rescue a U. S. citizen who had been kidnapped last week from his home in southern Niger.

Commandos from the Navy’s elite SEAL Team 6 rescued the American, Philip Walton, 27, after tracking the phones of his attackers to a hideout in neighboring northern Nigeria, U. S. officials said.

Hoffman, who did not identify Walton by name, said he “is safe and is now in the care of the U. S. Department of State.”

Walton, the son of missionaries, lives with his wife and young daughter on a farm near Massalata, a village close to the border with Nigeria. U. S. and Nigerien officials had said that Walton was seized from his backyard Monday in front of family members after assailants asked him for money. He offered them $ 40 and was then taken away by the armed gunmen on motorbikes, the officials said. The captors demanded nearly $ 1 million in ransom for Walton’s release.