On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Michael Simon issued a restraining order against President Trump’s special agent task force that barred them from threatening, dispersing or arresting legal observers and journalists in Portland, Oregon. The order followed over 50 consecutive days of Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality in that city.
“This order is a victory for the rule of law,” said Jam Carson, the interim executive director of the ACLU of Oregon . “Federal agents from Trump’s Departments of Homeland Security and Justice are terrorizing the community, threatening lives, and relentlessly attacking journalists and legal observers documenting protests. These are the actions of a tyrant, and they have no place anywhere in America.”
The lawsuit — the first of multiple to be filed against the Trump administration in Portland — seeks to block DHS and other agencies from attacking journalists and legal observers at protests.
We’re bringing the full power of the ACLU to bear until this lawless policing ends.
— ACLU (@ACLU) July 17, 2020
The order restricted federal agents from unlawfully preventing journalists or legal observers from documenting the protests. It also mandated that federal agents cannot seize any audio, photographic, or video-recording equipment, and if asked to disperse by authorities, journalists and legal observers have the right to ignore those requests..
The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU on behalf of local journalists and legal observers who were targeted by Trump’s federal agents. Despite wearing shirts identifying them as the press or legal observers, the plaintiffs—The Portland Mercury, John Rudoff, Justin Yau, Alex Milan Tracy, Kat Mahoney, Doug Brown, and Matthew Lewis-Rolland— were threatened, shot, and attacked with tear gas on numerous occasions.
Trigger Warning: violence
Here’s the moment I was #shot by #feds on July 11th. I am in the light, clearly marked as #press, carrying a Nikon d850. Our first #FirstAmendment rights are being trampled on by those who are sworn to protect it. pic.twitter.com/1ZyMH3pjWd
— Mathieu Lewis-Rolland (@MathieuLRolland) July 15, 2020
While there is currently no court-issued order to protect protesters, the Department of Justice’s independent watchdog agency announced on Thursday that it would conduct an investigation on the use of police force in Portland and Washington, DC. The investigation is set to include an examination of the agents’ instructions and their compliance with the protocol for using chemical deterrents.
The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general is also conducting an investigation of the Portland officers’ responses to the protests and the allegations accusing officers of improperly arresting, threatening, and transporting innocent protesters.