A federal judge Thursday banned federal agents in Portland from dispersing, arresting, threatening to arrest, or using force against journalists or legal observers.
Federal District Judge Michael H. Simon issued the 14-day temporary order after a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, which cited statements by journalists and legal observers who said they had been targeted by authorities.
Federal agents said they had been protecting government property from protesters and that journalists were accidentally caught in their efforts to stop the violence, but Simon said the indications suggested otherwise.
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“The plaintiffs’ statements describe situations including that they were identifiable as the press, did not engage in illegal activities or protested, were not near the protesters, and yet were subjected to violence by federal agents,” Simon wrote. “Contrary to the Federal Defendants’ arguments, this evidence does not support that the force used on the Plaintiffs was’ unintended consequences’ of crowd control.”
The order also states that federal officials may not unlawfully confiscate any photographic equipment, recording equipment, or press passes from persons who reasonably should know that they are a journalist or legal observer.
Federal officials, however, will not be responsible for involuntary violations of the court order. An example is if a journalist or legal observer remains in an area and is “incidentally exposed to crowd control devices” after officers give the legal order to leave.
The judge wrote that any “intentional violation” of the order or any order by a federal supervisor or commander to ignore or violate it will be considered a violation of “a clearly established constitutional right,” meaning that they will not be protected by immunity.
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Attorney Andrew Warden of the US Department of Justice argued that federal officials cannot stop to find out who is a member of the press or legal observer when fireworks were fired or lasers were applied to their eyes. , according to The Oregonian.
He added that agents need to make quick decisions and that it would be too difficult to determine who are the peaceful protesters of the violent ones, the newspaper reported.
The temporary restraining order for federal officials echoes a similar one issued earlier this month by the judge, which blocked Portland police from arresting or using physical force against journalists or legal observers, unless they “reasonably know “that that person has committed a crime.
Federal agents use crowd control munitions to disperse Black Lives Matter protesters at the United States Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, on July 20, 2020. (Associated Press)
The Portland City Council also approved new policies this week that will immediately ban all members of the police office from working with federal law enforcement.
Portland has been among the centers on the west coast of riots and protests following the May 25 death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis. Seattle, Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles have also seen frequent protests.
On Thursday, a demonstration in Beverly Hills, California resulted in the arrest of a dozen protesters, including at least one person for an alleged “assault on a police officer,” FOX 11 reported in Los Angeles.
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Officers reportedly gave the group of approximately 75 people dispersal orders before surrounding and taking several people into custody after the “crowd failed,” according to the station.
