Judge rules federal agents must limit tear gas at protests near Portland ICE building

A judge on Tuesday issued an order to temporarily restrict federal officers from using tear gas at protests outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in Portland, which comes after agents deployed gas at a crowd of demonstrators, including young children, despite the mayor describing the assembly as peaceful.

U.S. District Judge Michael Simon in Oregon instructed federal officers not to use chemical or projectile munitions on people who pose no imminent threat of physical harm or who are only trespassing or refusing dispersal orders.

The judge also prohibited federal officers from shooting at a person’s head, neck or torso “unless the officer is legally justified in using deadly force against that person.”

Simon wrote in his order that the nation “is now at a crossroads.”

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“In a well-functioning constitutional democratic republic, free speech, courageous newsgathering, and nonviolent protest are all 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 that it may not shirk.”

The temporary restraining order will remain in effect for 14 days, Simon said.

The ruling comes after a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon on behalf of protesters and freelance journalists covering demonstrations at the ICE building.

The complaint argues that federal officers’ use of chemical munitions and excessive force represents retaliation against protesters, which violates their First Amendment rights.

The Department of Homeland Security contends that the federal officers have “followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property.”

“HS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.

Tensions between anti-ICE demonstrators and federal officers have intensified 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.

A federal appeals court last month suspended an earlier decision that banned federal officers from using tear gas or pepper spray against peaceful protesters in Minnesota who are not obstructing law enforcement operations. An appeals court also reversed a ruling from a judge in Chicago that barred federal agents from using certain riot control weapons, including tear gas and pepper balls, unless needed to prevent an immediate threat.

The lawsuit in Oregon describes instances where federal officers used chemical or “less-lethal” munitions against the plaintiffs, which includes a protester known for wearing a chicken costume, a married couple in their 80s and two freelance journalists.

“Defendants must be enjoined from gassing, shooting, hitting and arresting peaceful Portlanders and journalists willing to document federal abuses as if they are enemy combatants,” the complaint reads.

The owner and residents of the affordable housing complex across the street from the ICE building have also filed a lawsuit, seeking to restrict federal officers’ use of tear gas because residents have been repeatedly exposed in the past year.

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On Saturday, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson demanded ICE leave his city after federal officers deployed tear gas at a crowd of demonstrators outside the agency’s facility. The mayor characterized the protests as peaceful, as federal officers also used pepper balls, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets against the demonstrators.

“Federal forces deployed heavy waves of chemical munitions, impacting a peaceful daytime protest where the vast majority of those present violated no laws, made no threat, and posed no danger to federal forces,” he said in a statement on Saturday.

“To those who continue to work for ICE: Resign. To those who control this facility: Leave. Through your use of violence and the trampling of the Constitution, you have lost all legitimacy and replaced it with shame. To those who continue to make these sickening decisions, go home, look in a mirror, and ask yourselves why you have 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 yourself, even as your bosses continue to lie to the American people,” the mayor continued.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.