Federal Judge Michael H. Simon issued the temporary restraining order on Thursday night before another night of expected protests in the city center. Videos taken by news teams there captured heartbreaking moments, such as when the city’s mayor was defeated by tear gas deployed to disperse a crowd on Wednesday, and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security. and the US Marshals Service, which commands the officers, details several examples of identified journalists allegedly abused by authorities.
The order, which Simon opened with a series of quotes about the importance of the free press, also says that journalists may ignore the dispersal orders issued by the authorities.
The order could present new challenges to the federal police as it continues to carry out its mission to protect federal property. For the past two months, protesters have regularly knocked down fences and attempted to enter the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse, where Simon’s cameras are located, in a confrontation that was taken by President Donald Trump and became in a political conflict. -Button highlighted in your reelection message.
Federal officials have arrested more than 40 people, and at least 26 defendants at the federal level, including one man accused of hitting an officer with a sledgehammer and others who allegedly laser-targeted the officers’ eyes, leaving some with permanent visual damage.
In court filings, the Justice Department had called an order that blocked targeting of groups of federal officials to groups “unfeasible in light of the fractional-second trials that federal law enforcement officers have what to do while protecting federal property and themselves during dynamic and chaotic situations. “
The order would also be “unfeasible from a practical point of view,” prosecutors wrote, because it “would require law enforcement officials responding to a violent situation that threatens (sic) public security to draw fine distinctions among a crowd. depending on who is wearing press identification cards and hats of different colors, all under threat of possible contempt. “
However, the ACLU called this argument unfounded, noting that Simon had issued a parallel order three weeks ago that blocked the heavy-handed application against the groups by local police officers in the city.
“This order is a victory for the rule of law,” said Jann Carson, acting executive director of the ACLU of Oregon. “Federal agents from the Trump 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 take place nowhere in U.S”.
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