ACLU, Oregon Attorney General Sue Feds for Protecting Portland from Violent Rioters, Antifa Mob

As Portland descends further and further into third world s***hole status thanks to the nightly riots over the last eight weeks that have left a trail of destruction, Oregon attorney general Ellen Rosenblum has stepped in to file a lawsuit to stop the feds from interfering with the riots, effectively protecting the rioters from any consequences. Pretend “mayor” Ted Wheeler has refused to allow the Portland police to quell the riots, so the city officers stand aside while the destruction continues.

Willamette Week reports:

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum will file a lawsuit in federal court tonight seeking a temporary restraining order barring the Department of Homeland Security and other federal law enforcement agencies from seizing and detaining Portland protesters without probable cause. 

Her announcement follows a July 16 report by Oregon Public Broadcasting that federal officers whisked away protesters in unmarked vans—rental vehicles, it now appears.

She also announced that the Oregon Department of Justice and the Multnomah County district attorney would open a criminal investigation into the July 11 injury of Donavan LaBella, whom a U.S. Marshals Service officer shot in the face with a munition. 

Rosenblum announced her intention to file the lawsuit in U.S. District Court tonight, as a federal police crackdown on Portland continues against the wishes of local elected officials for the 15th consecutive night. (Disclosure: Rosenblum is married to the co-owner of WW‘s parent company.)

Rosenblum gave this official statement:

“I share the concerns of our state and local leaders – and our Oregon U.S. Senators and certain Congressional representatives – that the current escalation of fear and violence in downtown Portland is being driven by federal law enforcement tactics that are entirely unnecessary and out of character with the Oregon way. These tactics must stop. They not only make it impossible for people to assert their First Amendment rights to protest peacefully. They also create a more volatile situation on our streets. We are today asking the federal court to stop the federal police from secretly stopping and forcibly grabbing Oregonians off our streets, and we are announcing a state criminal investigation, with the Multnomah County District Attorney, into the incident resulting in serious injuries to a peaceful protester — apparently committed by a federal police officer in downtown Portland last week.

“The federal administration has chosen Portland to use their scare tactics to stop our residents from protesting police brutality and from supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Every American should be repulsed when they see this happening. If this can happen here in Portland, it can happen anywhere.”

Yet she, like many other elected “leaders” in Oregon, have been strangely silent when it comes to the rioters who have been destroying the city on a nightly basis. No criticism for them.

Meanwhile, the ACLU is launching their own lawsuit against the feds. KGW reports:

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon (ACLU) has sued the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service for the deployment of federal agents in Portland.

According to a release from the ACLU, it is suing the departments that have been “deployed over the widespread objections of local leaders and community members, have been indiscriminately using tear gas, rubber bullets, and acoustic weapons against protesters, journalists, and legal observers. Federal officers also shot a protester in the head Sunday with a rubber bullet, fracturing the person’s face and skull.”

The lawsuit seeks to block the federal law enforcement officers from dispersing, arresting, threatening to arrest or using physical force against journalists or legal observers.

The ACLU of Oregon said in the release it plans to file many suits against federal authorities in Portland for the unconstitutional attacks of people protesting the killing of George Floyd.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of legal observers and local journalists. The named parties include:

The Portland Mercury; Matthew Lewis-Rolland, a freelance photographer whom federal agents shot 10 times in the back on Sunday; Justin Yau, a freelance journalist whom federal agents attacked with tear gas; and Doug Brown, a legal observer whom federal agents threatened to shoot. All were wearing high-visibility shirts that said “PRESS” or “legal observer.”

Portions of the official ACLU statement read:

Today’s lawsuit seeks to block federal law enforcement from dispersing, arresting, threatening to arrest, or using physical force against journalists or legal observers. The lawsuit is one of many the ACLU will be filing against federal authorities in Portland for their unconstitutional attacks on people protesting the police killing of George Floyd.

“This is a fight to save our democracy,” said Kelly Simon, interim legal director with the ACLU of Oregon. “Under the direction of the Trump administration, federal agents are terrorizing the community, risking lives, and brutally attacking protesters demonstrating against police brutality. This is police escalation on top of police escalation. These federal agents must be stopped and removed from our city. We will continue to bring the full fire power of the ACLU to bear until this lawless policing ends.”

“Cowardly attacks on those who report police misconduct to the world have no place in a free society,” said Matthew Borden, partner at Braun Hagey & Borden LLP.

The filing adds federal agencies to an existing lawsuit the ACLU of Oregon filed last month against local law enforcement. In that lawsuit, a federal judge issued an order blocking local law enforcement from dispersing, arresting, threatening to arrest, or using physical force against journalists or legal observers at protests until October 30. Today’s filing seeks to extend that order to federal law enforcement.

“What is happening in Portland is an unconstitutional nightmare,” said Vera Eidelman, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “This is not law and order. This is lawlessness. The ACLU will not let the government respond to protests against police brutality with still more brutality. We will continue to hold law enforcement at all levels of government accountable, just as we have nationwide.”

Strange that none of these government agencies or “civil rights” groups are coming to the aid of the business owners whose livelihoods have been ravaged by the rioting terrorists or the victims who have been assaulted by the rioters.