Portland protest groups file wide-ranging lawsuit against DHS, other federal agencies

(Image credit: Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

published 28 July 2020

Don't Shoot Portland, the "Wall of Moms" group, and five individual Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland, Oregon, filed suit against the Trump administration in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on Monday, challenging the federal shock-and-awe campaign against protesters on legal and procedural grounds.

The nine-count complaint accuses the Department of Homeland Security, its acting leadership, and other federal agencies of violating the constitutional rights of Portland protesters, and argues that federal officers are overstepping their statutory authority. It also alleges that acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf has no legal authority because President Trump has not nominated him and the Senate has not confirmed him to lead the agency.

The plaintiffs "have been tear-gassed night after night, left vomiting and unable to eat or sleep because of the toxic poison blasted at them," the complaint says. "They have been shot at over and over — with rubber bullets, bean bags, pepper spray, and a range of other projectiles fired at close range and with brutal effect. They have had flash-bang explosive devices detonated right in front of them. They have been forced to speak and assemble in fear of not just bodily harm, but the possibility of sudden arrest without probable cause."

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Protesters have been gathering in downtown Portland since May to push for racial justice and police reform, but the dwindling demonstrations surged after Trump sent in federal agents over the July 4 weekend, especially after they shot a 26-year-old protester in the head, fracturing his skull, then started grabbing people off the street far from federal property. This lawsuit joins four civil rights suits, a Justice Department inspector general investigation, and a lawsuit from Oregon's attorney general. A federal judge threw that last suit out on Friday, ruling Oregon lacked legal standing.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.