After several weeks of protests that resulted in clashes with law enforcement officials in Oregon, the state attorney general launched a criminal investigation into two “illegal” tactics allegedly done by federal agents.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum also announced that she filed a federal civil lawsuit Friday night against the Department of Homeland Security, the US Marshals Service, and US Customs and Border Protection. To begin the process of a restraining order to prevent officers from “illegally detaining the people of Oregon.” ”
The lawsuit requests a statement that the alleged actions of federal agents violate the First Amendment and the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, and “a court order that permanently restricts defendants to engage in tactics,” such as the two incidents that Rosenblum says they were “illegal”.
Requests for comment from defendants named in the civil case were not returned Saturday.
Oregon Federal Attorney Billy J. Williams also ordered an investigation into the actions of the federal police in Portland on Friday.
Immediately after the death of police-involved George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, protests across the country sparked an end to police brutality against people of color and law enforcement reforms. Many of the peaceful protests escalated with the arrests of thousands across the country.
Although recent protests across the country have been largely peaceful, there has been violence at the protests in Portland, Oregon.
The lawsuit follows President Donald Trump’s recent threats to override local authorities in cities he described as “war zones” led by “liberal left Democrats.”
Acting Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf said earlier this week that Portland has been “under siege for 47 days in a row by a violent mafia, while local political leaders refuse to restore order to protect his city”.
In the lawsuit, Rosenblum writes: “The federal administration has chosen Portland to use its scare tactics to prevent our residents from protesting against police brutality and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.”
Rosenblum also reports two incidents this month when federal agents allegedly assaulted or arrested “peaceful” protesters.
The first incident, on July 12, left a protester with “various injuries” to the head after an agent allegedly used an “impact weapon”. A joint criminal investigation was launched with Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill regarding this alleged assault, Rosenblum said. The Office of the Inspector General of Homeland Security has also launched an investigation.
In the second incident, on July 16, a man was walking down the street when an unidentified car with “undercover federal agents in generic green military uniforms forcibly detained him.” The arrest, filmed by a viewer, was viewed millions of times on Twitter.
According to CBP spokeswoman Stephanie Malin, “[CBP] the agents had information indicating that the person in the video was suspected of attacks on federal agents or destruction of federal property. ”
The man, identified by Rosenblum as Mark Pettibone, was “eventually” released. CBP confirmed that no charges were filed.
Pettibone said in a statement supporting Rosenblum’s lawsuit that he was protesting peacefully when he was suddenly detained and searched and held in a cell in federal court before being released.
“No one told me why they had detained me, nor provided me with any records of an arrest, nor explained to me what probable cause they had to detain me,” he wrote.
“These tactics must stop. Not only do they make it impossible for people to assert their First Amendment rights to protest peacefully. They also create a more volatile situation on our streets,” said Rosenblum.
Gov. Kate Brown told ABC News on Friday night that she had asked Wolf to withdraw agents from the state.
“Obviously they have refused to leave … Their presence here … makes the challenging situation even more difficult. It is like adding gasoline to the fire,” Brown said.
Wolf and Acting Assistant Secretary Ken Cuccinelli contested that all protesters have been peaceful in separate Twitter posts on Friday.
“DHS officers were assaulted with lasers and frozen water bottles by violent criminals trying to shoot down federal property,” wrote Wolf.
“The only positive thing I can think of to say about these criminals is that they are at least clear about what they want to do, even if they don’t care who they hurt: Portland protesters flood the police compound, sing about burning it down,” Cuccinelli wrote.
Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union announced Friday that they would try to secure a restraining order against federal law enforcement officials responding to the protests. If granted, the order would prevent federal authorities from removing journalists or legal observers from protest areas.
The ACLU complaint aims to build on a similar order that requires Portland police to have probable cause for a crime committed before arresting or using force against protest observers and journalists.
“The response to protests against police brutality cannot be to attract federal agents to engage in even greater brutality,” said Vera Eidelman, a national attorney for the ACLU.
ABC News’ Quinn Owen contributed to this report.
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