He asserted that the tactics are illegal and said that the agents’ presence in Portland violates “a fundamental tenet of American democracy” because the agents essentially perform local police duties that are reserved for state and local authorities.
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court in Washington, DC after the mayor of Portland and the leaders of five other major cities in the United States appealed to Congress to make it illegal for the United States government United deploy agents in cities that do not want them.
“The appalling use of federal force by this administration in cities over objections from local authorities should never happen,” said the letter sent to leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate from the mayors of Portland, Seattle. , Chicago, Kansas City, Albuquerque, New Mexico and Washington. .
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty asked Wolf for a meeting to discuss a ceasefire and his desire to withdraw additional federal agents deployed to Portland.
But Oregon Federal Attorney Billy J. Williams insisted Monday that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Federal Protection Service will remain in Portland as protesters continue. attacking the Federal Courthouse Mark O. Hatfield.
Protests have rocked Portland for two months since the death of George Floyd, the black man who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer held him by the neck for nearly eight minutes.
In Portland, protests have increasingly focused on federal court, and protesters have tried almost every night to tear down a fence erected to protect the building, set fire to the street, and throw fireworks, cocktails and Molotov bricks, rocks and bottles to the agents inside. .
“It is not a solution to tell federal officials to leave when attacks on federal property and personnel continue,” Williams said. “We are not leaving the building unprotected to be destroyed by people trying to do it.”
Protesters filled the streets again until early Tuesday morning, gathering for the 60th night on the block where the courthouse is located. They were greeted with tear gas, peppercorns, and stun grenades fired by federal agents guarding the building.
Hours after the smoke cleared in Portland, Attorney General William Barr appeared in Congress Tuesday and defended the aggressive federal police response to civil unrest, saying that “violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests” sparked by George Floyd’s death at the hands of the Minneapolis police.
Barr told members of the House Judiciary Committee at a highly anticipated election year hearing that violence in Portland and other cities is disconnected from the Floyd murder, calling it a “horrible” event that sparked a necessary national recognition of the relationship between blacks. community and law enforcement.
“Largely absent from these scenes of destruction, including the cursory attempts by protesters to connect their actions to the death of George Floyd or any legitimate calls for reform,” Barr said of the Portland protests.
The US Marshals Service has gathered about 100 people who could be sent to hot spots, either to strengthen forces or relieve officers who have been working for weeks, agency spokesman Drew Wade said. .
Kris Cline, deputy chief director of the Federal Protection Service, said an incident commander in Portland and teams from the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department are discussing what level of force is needed each night.
Cline declined to discuss the number of officers currently present or whether more would come.
Cline said the Portland police should take over the job of dispersing protesters from the federal officials’ court area.
“If the Portland Police Office could do what they normally do, they could clear this up for this disturbance and we would leave our officers inside the building and they would not be visible,” Cline said.
Portland police were also criticized for using tear gas to disperse protesters before federal agents began defending the court. Recently, a federal court order prohibited them from using tear gas unless the police declared a riot, which they have done on several occasions.
Wheeler, the mayor, is deeply unpopular with some Portland residents for what they see as his failure to curb local police.
The Portland City Council is slated to vote Wednesday on whether to send a ballot measure to voters in November that would create a review board for the Police Office that is independent of elected officials and city departments. The police union opposes the idea and called the measure illegal.
