Protesters hit with gas as locals demand feds leave Portland

Militarized federal nts deployed by president to Portland, Oregon, fired tear gas against protesters again overnight as city’s mayor demanded that nts be removed and as state’s attorney general vowed to seek a restraining order against m.Federal nts, some wearing camoufl and some wearing dark Homeland Security uniforms, used tear gas at least twice to break up crowds late Friday night, Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

Protests against systemic racism and police brutality have been a nightly feature in deeply liberal Portland since Minneapolis police killed George Floyd on May 25. President Donald Trump has decried disorder and Homeland Security Secretary Ch Wolf blasted protesters as “lawless anarchists” in a visit to city, helping make clashes between police and demonstrators a national focus.

ministration has enlisted federal nts, including U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group and an elite U.S. Customs and Border Protection team based on U.S.-Mexico border, to protect federal property. But Oregon Public Brocasting reported this week that some nts h been driving around in unmarked vans and snatching protesters from streets t near federal property, without identifying mselves.

Tensions also escalated after an officer with Marshals Service fired a less-lethal round at a protester’s he on July 11, critically injuring him. nts’ actions have prompted outr from elected officials and civil liberties groups, with Mayor Ted Wheeler demanding at a news conference Friday: “Keep your troops in your own buildings, or have m leave our city.”Democratic Gov. Kate Brown said Trump is looking for a confrontation in hopes of winning political points elsewhere and distracting from his widely panned response to coronavirus pandemic.

American Civil Liberties Union sued Department of Homeland Security and Marshals Service on Friday on behalf of journalists and legal observers who h been hit with tear gas and rubber bullets, ding federal ncies to a lawsuit organization h alrey filed against local police.“Usually when we see people in unmarked cars forcibly grab someone off street we call it kidnapping,” said Jann Carson, interim executive director of American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon.

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said Friday night she was also suing Homeland Security and Marshals Service. She said she was seeking a temporary restraining order to “immediately stop federal authorities from unlawfully detaining Oregonians.”“ current escalation of fear and violence in downtown Portland is being driven by federal law enforcement tactics that are entirely unnecessary,” Rosenblum said in an emailed statement. “y t only make it impossible for people to assert ir First Amendment rights to protest peacefully. y also create a more volatile situation on our streets.”

Even local U.S. Justice Department authorities have raised eyebrows at tactics. U.S. Attorney Billy Williams in Portland ted that for 50-plus nights nts h faced difficult circumstances, rebuffing protesters who tried to enter federal courthouse or who shot commercial fireworks. But he said Friday he h asked DHS inspector general to investigate reports that nts arrested people without probable cause.On Friday night, hundreds of people gared for a vigil outside downtown Justice Center, which is sandwiched between two federal buildings, including a courthouse, Oregonian/OregonLive reported. Across street, dozens of or protesters entered two recently closed city parks after dismantling chain-link fencing that blocked access.

Federal nts emerged from an office building next door and used impact munitions, stun grenes and tear gas to clear area, news organization reported. It said its journalists did t observe any incident that might have prompted use of weapons.Federal officers deployed tear gas again just before midnight after a few protesters placed dismantled fencing in front of plywood doors covering entrance of federal courthouse.

Early Saturday, after Portland police declared garing unlawful, federal officers and local police vanced simultaneously on demonstrators to clear streets. Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell told reporters Friday that his officers are in contact with federal nts, but that neir controls ors’ actions.Federal authorities have charged more than a dozen people with crimes related to protests so far, Oregon Public Brocasting has reported.

One video showed two people in helmets and green camoufl with “police” patches grabbing a person on sidewalk, handcuffing m and taking m into an unmarked vehicle while refusing to identify mselves.Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that its nts h information indicating person in video was suspected of assaulting federal nts or destroying federal property.

“Once CBP nts approached suspect, a large and violent mob moved towards ir location. For everyone’s safety, CBP nts quickly moved suspect to a safer location,” ncy said. However, video shows mob.In ar case, Mark Pettibone, 29, said a minivan rolled up to him around 2 a.m. Wednesday and four or five people got out “looking like y were deployed to a Middle Eastern war.”

Pettibone told Associated Press he got to his knees as group approached. y dragged him into van without identifying mselves or responding to his questions and pulled his beanie over his eyes so he couldn’t see, he said.Pettibone said he was put into a cell but allowed to leave after he asked for a lawyer.“Authoritarian governments, t democratic republics, send unmarked authorities after protesters,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley tweeted.

(Im Credit: AP)