A protester organization in Portland, Oregon, is suing the Trump administration, claiming that the movements of federal agents in the town violated their constitutional rights, went beyond legal authority, and were driven through a user officially shown in their role.
The nonprofit Protect Democracy filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C., on behalf of individual protesters and the Don’t Shoot Portland and Wall of Moms teams.
In the lawsuit, the demonstrators allege that federal agents illegally attempted to “suppress” protests in Portland by throwing tear gas, bean bags, pepper spray, rubber bullets, flash grenades and less deadly ammunition against nonviolent protesters.
The officers’ bill went beyond their legal authority to protect federal property, according to the lawsuit, alleging that they made illegal arrests, used maximum force, and limited freedom of expression.
The lawsuit also calls for the court to claim that the orders of Chad Wolf, acting secretary of Homeland Security, are null and void because he “legally fulfills that role” as an unauthorized interim secretary.
“The goal of the administration’s deployment of federal agents in Portland turns out to be to stifle speeches that the president doesn’t like. It is to find out this illegal administrative policy now, before it is allowed to spread to other U.S. cities,” Deana El said. “Mallawany, a lawyer at Protect Democracy,” he said in a statement.
Previously reported: Portland police arrest two suspects after reporting shooting near federal court protest site
”Someone’s going to die’: Portland mayor gassed through federal agents
Since the murder of George Floyd, a black man who died in May when a white Minneapolis policeman pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck, Portland has witnessed nightly protests of police brutality and racial injustice.
President Donald Trump has said he ordered federal agents to enter the city to end the riots. He described the protesters as “anarchists” and “agitators.”
“These are attacks on federal agents protecting the assets of the Federated,” Acting National Security Undersecretary Ken Cuccinelli tweeted Monday. “Anyone who tells you in a different way will intentionally forget the facts or lie.”
In recent weeks, clashes between protesters and federal agents have intensified and, in large part, targeted the federal court.
While some protesters lit fireworks or dumped articles over the courthouse fences, many others built up peacefully, rehearsing songs and walking through the streets.
Federal agents fired tear gas and pepper spray at the protesters and, in response, the protesters formed “mom walls,” an organization of women on the front line to others, or put on orange leaf blowers and transported to help disperse tear fuel.
“This is not an organization of anarchists in the front lineArray. It’s not as out of place as other people think,” Tai Carpenter, chairman of the board of Don’t Shoot Portland, told USA TODAY in Portland last week.
The lawsuit says Trump attempted to create a national federal police force, which the Constitution does not allow, according to the lawsuit, and that his plans to send federal agents to other U.S. cities are not intended for federal property.
On the other hand, mayors of six U.S. cities wrote a letter to Congress Monday asking lawmakers to pass a law preventing the administration from sending “unidentified federal agents” to local city consultations.
“This will have to stop. The administration’s flagrant use of federal force against cities despite local government objection will never happen,” the mayors of Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Albuquerque, Kansas City, and Washington, D.C. wrote.
In Portland, as in other liberal cities where Trump announced he would send agents, local officials denounced the federal presence and argued that it had exacerbated tensions.
Local officials have also sought redress in court to obstruct the federal response. The state attorney general also sued the federal government, however, U.S. district judge Michael Mosman ruled Friday that the state has no status to prosecute on behalf of the protesters.
U.S. District Judge Michael Simon ruled that federal agents cannot target or disperse hounds and legal observers after a trial on their behalf. A lawsuit was also filed on behalf of doctors who treated the injured protesters.
The use of tear fuel and other ammunition through local police is also limited through federal judges in Portland, Denver and Seattle.
Teressa Raiford, a plaintiff in the case and founder of Don’t Shoot Portland, said in a statement that Portland police had long been violent with the protesters and that the presence of federal agents only exacerbated the situation.
“What we are doing with this trial is protecting the basic right to protest, which defines a democracy, so that we can continue to protect the lives of other black people who oppose state-sanctioned violence,” Raiford said. “I hope it inspires others to do the same.”
Contribution: Trevor Hughes, Grace Hauck and Associated Press