Breitbart/TJV News
Oregon’s Justice Department is suing multiple federal agencies for civil rights abuses, and state prosecutors are looking to file criminal charges against an officer who seriously wounded a protester.
The lawsuit names the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Federal Protective Service as agencies that have used force against protesters since early July.
The state filed the suit on Friday.
U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman Kristina Edmunson told OPB that the lawsuit would accuse the agencies of taking part “in unlawful law enforcement in violation of the civil rights of Oregon citizens by seizing and detaining them without probable cause.”
State attorneys would request that a judge issue a temporary restraining order, which “would immediately stop federal authorities from unlawfully detaining Oregonians,” the DOJ said in a release.
The state’s Justice Department said that its Criminal Justice Division has also opened a criminal investigation into the case of Donavan LaBella, a peaceful protester shot in the head last Saturday, Edmunson said. He suffered facial and skull fractures from the incident.
All munitions are supposed to be aimed below the waist.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oregon is also filing a lawsuit against the federal agencies that were sent into Portland to arrest or use physical force against protesters, journalists, or legal observers, KGW reported.
Portland has been home to some of the most violent protets in the country. Homeland security has acted only after on the night of 2–3 July, 2020, hundreds of antifa militants attacked the federal courthouse in downtown Portland in the name of Black Lives Matter. They attacked responding police officers with glass bottles, rocks, a knife and more. After breaking the building’s glass doors, they launched mortars inside, starting a fire.
After visiting the city, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf released a statement that included a list of incidents DHS officers have faced in Portland since late May, and praised them in a series of tweets on Friday.
Oregon Gov Kate Brown and Portland Mayor Wheeler have denounced this federal intrusion. But when Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf landed in Portland on Thursday to assess the situation and report back, both officials publicly declined to meet with him.
It’s just another sign that pandering politicians have internalized the far-left’s hatred of anybody who disagrees with their world view. Because a discussion might lead to a resolution, and then what would all these protesters do? As the protesters claim they were being snatched up by unidentified ‘agents’, DHS issued a statement directly contradicting this.
Agents were in uniform, but they didn’t wear badges due to fears of personal safety. It’s the same line or reasoning that justifies using an unmarked van, a spokesperson for DHS said.
Our men and women in uniform are patriots. We will never surrender to violent extremists on my watch. pic.twitter.com/kG8w8kyw9E
— Acting Secretary Chad Wolf (@DHS_Wolf) July 17, 2020
These valiant men and women have defended our institutions of justice against violent anarchists for 48 straight days. We will prevail. pic.twitter.com/Qo9XoCyH2N
— Acting Secretary Chad Wolf (@DHS_Wolf) July 17, 2020
