Oregon Battles With U.S. in Court on Federal Agents in Portland

(Bloomberg) -- Oregon squared off against the Trump administration at a hearing Wednesday over the state’s request to stop the unexplained detention of anti-racism protesters in Portland by federal agents.

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, who sued the U.S. last week, asked a federal judge for a temporary restraining order against Department of Homeland Security agents and U.S. Marshals for detaining people without probable cause or a warrant. The agents should identify themselves and explain that the person is being arrested and why, she argued.

Federal agents “are walking up, they are grabbing those people, and they are marching them into this unmarked van,” Sheila Potter, an attorney for Oregon, said during oral arguments by videoconference. “And that is terrifying.”

U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman pressed Oregon to show that the officers didn’t have probable cause, and grilled the U.S. on its failure to respond in court filings to one protester’s account that he was snatched off the street for no reason.

Also on Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal suit against the U.S. and Portland on behalf of volunteer street medics, alleging officers attacked them during the demonstrations. The two didn’t immediately respond to emails and a call for comment on the suit.

President Donald Trump deployed the agents amid the sometimes violent protests in Portland, part of a nationwide outcry following the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis. Trump has threatened to send federal officers to Chicago and other cities as well, drawing criticism from local officials, Democrats, civil libertarians and others.

Amid poor re-election polling, the president and his allies have seized on the protests to paint Democratic-controlled cities as letting “anarchists” and criminals run wild, even though the vast majority of the protests around the country have been peaceful.

In the hearing, Oregon’s attorneys argued that the arresting officers’ behavior violated First Amendment protections of free speech and assembly by discouraging demonstrations. The conduct also violated Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful seizure, they said.

Oregon relied on a statement by Mark Pettibone, who said he was detained while walking home on July 15 after “peacefully” participating in a Black Lives Matter demonstration.

Justice Department attorney David Morrell said the order Oregon wants could have a “chilling effect.”

“It just is a very bad precedent for a court to superintend law enforcement operations in an incredibly trying, dynamic and violent atmosphere,” Morrell said.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.