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On Tuesday, a judge issued an order to temporarily restrict the use of tear gas by federal agents at protests outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in Portland, after agents fired gas into a crowd of protesters, including young children, despite the mayor describing the assembly as peaceful.
U.S. District Judge Michael Simon in Oregon ordered federal officials not to use chemical munitions or projectiles against people who do not pose an imminent threat of physical harm or who are merely trespassing or refusing dispersal orders.
The judge also prohibited federal agents from shooting at a person's head, neck or torso “unless the agent is legally justified in using deadly force against that person.”
Simon wrote in his order that the nation “now finds itself at a crossroads.”
PORTLAND MAYOR DEMANDS ICE LEAVE THE CITY AFTER FEDERAL AGENTS USE TEAR GAS ON PROTESTERS: 'REPRESENTATIVE DECISIONS'
Federal agents fired tear gas and grenades at protesters outside the ICE building in Portland, Oregon. (Allison Barr/The Oregonian via AP)
“In a well-functioning constitutional democratic republic, freedom of expression, courageous news gathering, and nonviolent protest are permitted, respected, and even celebrated,” he wrote. “In helping our nation find its constitutional compass, an impartial and independent judiciary operating under the rule of law has a responsibility it cannot shirk.”
The temporary restraining order will remain in effect for 14 days, Simon said.
The ruling comes after a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon on behalf of protesters and independent journalists covering demonstrations at the ICE building.
The complaint contends that the use of chemical munitions and excessive force by federal agents represents retaliation against protesters, violating their First Amendment rights.
The Department of Homeland Security maintains that federal agents “followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property.”
“HS is taking constitutional and appropriate steps to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters,” said DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.
Jack Dickinson, dressed in a chicken costume, outside an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Tensions between anti-ICE protesters and federal agents have escalated in recent weeks in cities across the country, particularly after the shooting deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in separate incidents last month in Minneapolis.
Last month, a federal appeals court stayed an earlier ruling that prohibited federal agents from using tear gas or pepper spray against peaceful protesters in Minnesota who did not obstruct police operations. An appeals court also overturned a ruling by a Chicago judge that prohibited federal agents from using certain riot weapons, including tear gas and pepper balls, unless necessary to prevent an immediate threat.
The Oregon lawsuit describes cases in which federal agents used chemical or “less-lethal” munitions against plaintiffs, including a protester known for wearing a chicken costume, a married couple in their 80s and two freelance journalists.
“Defendants should be prohibited from gassing, shooting, beating, and arresting peaceful Portlanders and journalists willing to document federal abuses as if they were enemy combatants,” the complaint reads.
The owner and residents of the affordable housing complex across from the ICE building also filed a lawsuit, seeking to restrict the use of tear gas by federal agents because residents have been repeatedly exposed over the past year.
CBP/BORDER PATROL AGENTS PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE AFTER DEADLY CONFRONTATION WITH ALEX PRETTI
Tensions between anti-ICE protesters and federal agents 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 federal agents fired tear gas into a crowd of protesters outside the agency's facility. The mayor characterized the protests as peaceful, as federal agents also used pepper balls, stun grenades and rubber bullets against protesters.
“Federal forces deployed heavy waves of chemical munitions, impacting a peaceful protest during the day where the vast majority of those present did not violate any laws, posed no threat, and posed no danger to federal forces,” he said in a statement Saturday.
“To those who continue to work for ICE: resign. To those who control this facility: leave. Through your use of violence and trampling of the Constitution, you have lost all legitimacy and replaced it with shame. To those who continue to make these disgusting decisions, go home, look in the mirror and ask yourself why you gassed children. Ask yourselves why you continue to work for an agency responsible for murders on American streets. No one is forcing you to lie to yourselves. themselves, even as their bosses continue to lie to the American people,” the mayor continued.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
