Judge ‘found no credible evidence’ that protests grew out of control but final ruling to come Friday
Judge ‘found no credible evidence’ that protests grew out of control but final ruling to come Friday
A federal judge in Oregon on Sunday barred Donald Trump’s administration from deploying the national guard to Portland, Oregon, until at least Friday, saying she “found no credible evidence” that protests in the city grew out of control before the president federalized the troops earlier this fall.
The city and state sued in September to block the deployment.
It’s the latest development in weeks of legal back-and-forth in Portland, Chicago and other US cities as the Trump administration has moved to federalize and deploy the National Guard in city streets to quell protests.
The ruling from US district court judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, followed a three-day trial in which both sides argued over whether protests at the city’s US Immigration and Customs Enforcement building met the conditions for using the military domestically under federal law.
In a 16-page filing late Sunday, Immergut said she would issue a final order on Friday due to the voluminous evidence presented at trial, including more than 750 exhibits.
The purpose of the deployment, according to the Trump administration, is to protect federal personnel and property where protests are occurring or likely to occur. Legal experts said that a higher appellate court order that remains in effect would have barred troops from being deployed anyway.
Immergut wrote that most violence appeared to be between protesters and counter-protesters and found no evidence of “significant damage” to the immigration facility at the center of the protests.
