The judge rejects Oregon’s attempt to stop federal agents in unmarked cars that arrest protesters.

A federal judge in Portland rejected a motion by the Oregon attorney general seeking to impose restrictions on federal agents who have confronted protesters in the city and even snatched some people off the streets while riding in unmarked vehicles. The lawsuit filed by Ellen Rosenblum required a restraining order that would prevent federal agents from arresting people without probable cause and would require them to clearly identify themselves and who they were working for before arresting anyone during the protests that have taken place in the city during almost two months.

Federal District Judge Michael W. Mosman said the state did not have adequate capacity to file the lawsuit because it had not demonstrated that the problem was “in the specific interest of the state itself.” The judge also noted that the lawsuit was “very unusual with a particular set of rules.” That was in part because the state had sued on behalf of its residents, but no protester was a plaintiff in the case. Additionally, the state was trying to obtain a restraining order to prevent future federal agent injuries instead of “repairing any damage done to protesters,” the judge wrote.

Rosenblum said she was “quite disappointed” with the decision. “If I’m not standing, I’m not sure who does it,” said Rosenblum. But legal experts had warned that this could happen and said that a lawsuit by someone alleging that federal agents had violated her constitutional rights would have a greater chance of succeeding. “The federal government acted in violation of the rights of those people and probably acted in violation of the Constitution in the sense of exercising powers reserved to the states, but just because the federal government acts in ways that exceed its authority does not mean the state has an injury, “Michael Dorf, a professor of constitutional law at Cornell University, told the AP. However, Rosenblum insisted that the judge’s rejection was” problematic “because, although individuals can sue for damages,” they do not they can get a judge to restrict this illegal conduct more generally. “

Shortly after the judge issued the ruling, thousands of protesters gathered once again in downtown Portland in what “was the largest crowd since the first weeks of the protests that began 58 days ago,” said the Oregonian. Protesters fired fireworks in federal court and protests continued for hours until federal agents began firing tear gas at close range early in the morning to disperse the crowd. It was unclear if any of the protesters was arrested after federal agents declared the meeting an “illegal assembly.” A person was found stabbed near the protests and a suspect was arrested.

Prosecutors on Friday revealed charges against 18 protesters in Portland that included assaulting police officers and arson. The charges came a day after the Trump administration decided to send a team of tactical police officers to Seattle despite objections from the city mayor and the governor of Washington.

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