The legislation, proposed by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act budget bill that the Senate is considering, would require all federal agents to make arrests or assist in crowd control to “display identification information in a clearly visible fashion at all times,” including your agency name and last name. Agents would also be prohibited from using unmarked vehicles during arrests.
The proposal would also limit the scope of federal agents’ jurisdiction to federal property and “the sidewalk and public street immediately adjacent to any federal building or property.” Under the legislation, a request would be needed from both the state governor and the mayor of a city before officers could be deployed elsewhere. It would be illegal for federal agents to make arrests if they violate the provisions of the legislation.
The Democrats-backed resolution raises an uphill battle to be included in the NDAA, and it’s unclear whether Democrats plan to do anything to block or curb the general NDAA if Republicans oppose the amendment given the importance and broad support. bipartisan for authorization law. .
Federal agents, including those from the Department of Homeland Security immigration agencies, have been deployed to Portland to assist the Federal Protective Service, which is responsible for protecting federal government facilities and their employees and visitors, amid protests that They were fueled by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Recent video footage of the protest scenes shows DHS staff arresting protesters and putting them in unmarked SUVs. In one of those videos that was shared on Twitter by Merkley, two masked and camouflaged individuals with generic “police” patches detain a person wearing a black suit and place them in an unmarked van before leaving. The United States Office of Customs and Border Protection identified the officers as belonging to that agency and indicated that the man was being sought for questioning about a possible crime. However, a DHS official said he was later released.
“What we have seen in the past 10 days in Portland has been horrible and inconceivable,” Merkley said in a statement. “Federal forces have shot an unarmed protester in the head with impact munitions, and camouflaged paramilitary forces have been grabbing people off the streets and placing them in unmarked trucks.”
“These are the actions of an authoritarian regime, not a democratic republic. This serious violation of the civil rights of Americans must end immediately.”
Merkley, the Democratic governor of Oregon and the mayor of Portland have asked federal agents to leave the city, which has seen protests for more than 50 nights.
