Federal agents appeared to deploy tear gas early Friday to force thousands of demonstrators from crowding around the federal courthouse in Portland, after a federal judge on Thursday blocked U. S. agents from arresting or using physical force against journalists and legal observers in Oregon’s largest city.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal judge specifically blocked U. S. agents from arresting or using physical force against journalists and legal observers at protests in Oregon’s largest city where President Donald Trump is testing the limits of federal power.
Federal agents appeared to deploy tear gas early Friday to force thousands of demonstrators from crowding around the federal courthouse.
Protesters had projected lasers on the building and attempted to take down a security fence that had been reinforced to keep demonstrators at a distance. The protesters moved away as clouds of gas rose from the area and flash grenades could be heard.
U. S. Judge Michael Simon made his ruling late Thursday, a day after Portland’s mayor was tear-gassed by federal agents while making an appearance outside a federal courthouse during raucous demonstrations. Protesters have been kept up in the city for nearly two months since George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis.
Simon had previously ruled that journalists and legal observers are exempt from police orders requiring protesters to disperse once an unlawful assembly has been declared. Federal lawyers intervened, saying journalists should have to leave when ordered.
„This order is a victory for the rule of law,“ Jann Carson, ACLU of Oregon’s interim executive director, said in a statement.
The judge said objections by law enforcement were outweighed by First Amendment concerns.
„None of the government’s proffered interests outweigh the public’s interest in accurate and timely information about how law enforcement is treating“ protesters, he wrote.
Simon’s order is in effect for 14 days.
