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A judge on Tuesday issued an order temporarily barring government officials from using tear gas at protests outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in Portland, which came after agents gassed a crowd of protesters, including young children, despite the mayor’s description of the rally as peaceful.
US District Judge Michael Simon in Oregon has ordered government officials not to use chemical weapons or firearms against people who do not pose a threat of physical harm or who are fleeing or refusing orders to disperse.
The judge also prohibited federal officers from shooting a person in the head, neck or groin “unless the officer has a legitimate reason to use deadly force against that person.”
Simon later wrote that the nation is “now at a crossroads.”
PORTLAND MAYOR WANTS COACH TO LEAVE CITY AFTER FEDERAL AGENTS USE SPACE GAS ON PROTESTERS: ‘SICK DECISIONS’
Federal agents fired tear gas and flash bangs at protesters in front of the ICE building in Portland, Oregon. (Allison Barr/The Oregonian via AP)
“In a functioning constitutional democratic republic, free speech, courageous reporting, and non-violent protest are all permitted, respected and celebrated,” he wrote. “In helping our nation find its constitutional compass, an impartial and independent judiciary acting under the rule of law has a responsibility it may not obstruct.”
The temporary restraining order will last for 14 days, Simon said.
The decision comes after a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon on behalf of protesters and independent journalists covering protests at the ICE building.
The complaint alleges that state officials’ use of chemical weapons and mass force constitutes retaliation against protesters, in violation of their First Amendment rights.
The Department of Homeland Security argues that federal officials “followed their training and used the least amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property.”
“HS takes reasonable and constitutional steps to uphold the law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous violence,” said DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.
Jack Dickinson, wearing a chicken costume, outside an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Tensions between anti-ICE protesters and government officials have escalated in recent weeks in cities across the country, especially after the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in separate incidents last month in Minneapolis.
An appeals court last month upheld a previous ruling that barred federal officials from using tear gas or pepper spray on peaceful protesters in Minnesota who are not obstructing law enforcement. The appeals court also overturned a judge’s ruling in Chicago that barred federal agents from using certain riot control weapons, including tear gas and pepper balls, unless necessary to prevent an immediate threat.
The lawsuit in Oregon describes instances in which government officials used chemical or “non-lethal” weapons against plaintiffs, including a protester known for wearing a chicken costume, a married couple in their 80s and two freelance journalists.
“The defendants must be sentenced for gassing, shooting, beating and arresting peaceful Portlanders and journalists who are willing to write about government abuse as if they were enemy soldiers,” the complaint continued.
The owner and residents of an affordable housing complex across the street from the ICE building also filed a lawsuit, seeking to prevent agency officials from using tear gas because residents have been repeatedly exposed over the past year.
CBP/BORDER PROTECTION AGENCIES PLACED IN ADMINISTRATIVE STATE AFTER DEADLY CONTACT WITH ALEX PRETTI.
Tensions between anti-ICE protesters and government officials have escalated in recent weeks in cities across the country. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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On Saturday, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson demanded that ICE leave his city after agency officials fired tear gas into a crowd of protesters outside the agency’s facility. The mayor said the protests were peaceful, as officials also used pepper balls, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets against the protesters.
“The army used waves of chemical weapons, which had an effect on the peaceful demonstration during the day where most of the participants did not break the law, did not pose a threat, and posed a threat to the army,” he said in a statement on Saturday.
“To those who continue to work for ICE: Stop it. To those who control this agency: Go. By your use of violence and trampling on the Constitution, you have lost all legitimacy and instead have shame. To those who continue to make these outrageous decisions, go home, look in the mirror, and ask yourself why you gassed children. Ask yourself why the one American agency continues to work on the streets dealing with murder. Lie, as you are.” they continue to lie to the American people,” the mayor continued.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
