Saturday, July 18, 2020
Fascism in America? These are the tactics of the Nazis and other fascist groups.
These happenings in Portland are perhaps our greatest threats yet to democracy. They are indeed disturbing and must not be allowed to
continue. (Peaceful protesters were "seized and detained" without probable cause by paramilitary forces in unmarked cause.") »
Oregon Will Sue Feds to Stop Unmarked Detentions
CathyM
Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)
Saturday July 18, 2020 · 7:54 AM MDT
Recommend 149 Share Tweet 94 Comments 94 New
Police stand as protesters gather during a demonstration, Thursday, July 16, 2020 in Portland, Ore. Federal officers deployed tear gas and fired less-lethal rounds into a crowd of protesters late Thursday. The actions came just hours after the head of the Department of Homeland Security called the protesters “violent anarchists.†(Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP)
I just saw this on the Oregonian — good news! I’ll update with more when I get it:
https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/07/oregon-will-sue-federal-police-agencies-open-criminal-investigation-into-use-of-force.html
Oregon will sue federal police agencies, open criminal investigation into use of force
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced late Friday that her office would sue several federal law enforcement agencies over their response to Portland protests and launch a criminal investigation into an incident of force by federal officers.
Rosenblum is seeking a temporary restraining order to stop federal officers from detaining Portlanders, arguing federal agencies seized and detained Oregonians without probable cause. She said the state’s lawsuit in federal court will name the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Protection Service as defendants.
...Rosenblum also said the state and the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office would criminally investigate the shooting by federal officers of Donavan La Bella in the face with a less-lethal munition Saturday, critically injuring him. La Bella’s hands were above his head when he was shot.
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 7:57:53 AM MDT · CathyM
This is from yesterday, but important: Wyden, Merkley, Bonamici and Blumenaur have asked for an investigation:
WydenMerkleyetclettertoWolf-getOUT.jpg
this is page two:
WydenMerkleyetclettertoWolf-getOUT.jpg
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 8:05:19 AM MDT · CathyM
Here’s more from Willamette Week:
www.wweek.com/…
Oregon Attorney General Sues to Stop Federal Arrests of Portland Protesters
“Every American should be repulsed when they see this happening. If this can happen here in Portland, it can happen anywhere.”
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
...As the top law enforcement official in Oregon, Rosenblum is asking a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order against four federal agencies: the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Federal Protective Service, which guards federal buildings.
In late June, President Donald Trump created a task force out of those four agencies to defend federal monuments and buildings from protesters. He has chiefly deployed them to one city: Portland, where they have used the wide powers granted to federal police in spite of the objections of local officials.
If a judge grants Rosenblum the injunction, it would limit the authority of federal police to make street arrests without meeting the typical standard held to by cops: probable cause that a crime is being committed.
Which seems like the minimum standard to be held to!!
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 8:07:30 AM MDT · CathyM
Short video of ACLU official observers in Portland last night:
https://twitter.com/MrOlmos/status/1284420208707252226
Sergio Olmos
@MrOlmos
ACLU legal observers in Portland
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 8:16:32 AM MDT · CathyM
I want to be objective in this — photos are emerging on Twitter of protesters using sections of fence to block the doors of the Federal Courthouse… that is provocation, and certainly needs to be addressed — apparently they were pushed away with smoke bombs:
PDXprotestersblockdoors.jpg
credit: Dave Killen, Oregonian
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 8:33:29 AM MDT · CathyM
And not at all surprisingly, Dana from OAN posted a sensationalist photo and clutches her pearls on twitter (I won’t repost photo — it’s just odd)
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 8:40:50 AM MDT · CathyM
I’m reviewing how the rightwingers are reporting this on Twitter — talk about an alternative universe!! But sadly there are a few violent protesters, which gives them an opening to condemn the city for “not responding”… this is the kind of crap being posted (by one of Portland’s notorious non-journalist wimps):
Andy Ngô
@MrAndyNgo
·
14h
Lilith Sinclair, a Portland antifa activist & sex worker, says she is organizing for the abolition of the police & United States at an event outside the federal courthouse today. She is applauded by the audience & joined by religious clergy.
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 8:48:48 AM MDT · CathyM
This is NOT good news, if confirmed (my bold):
Josh Marshall
@joshtpm
· 10h
Deputy Secretary of DHS Ken Cuccinelli tells NPR not only are they not stopping the Portland tactics they're going to take them nationwide. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/dhs-under-boss-were-taking-this-national
via @TPM
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 9:01:06 AM MDT · CathyM
Here’s a bit more on last night’s protest- apparently Portland cops and Feds acting “in tandem” (bolding mine):
www.oregonlive.com/…
...The overnight force against protesters by federal police came soon after Oregon’s attorney general announced she was suing several federal agencies over the arrests of protesters. Several other state and local officials, including Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, also criticized the federal presence.
Yet after Portland police declared the downtown demonstration to be unlawful early Saturday morning, federal and local officers emerged at the same time to advance on protesters. Some demonstrators had piled fence parts in front of some entrances to government buildings.
At a press conference hours before the demonstration began, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said city officials “communicate with federal officers for the purpose of situational awareness and de-confliction.” But he said they do not act at one another’s direction.
...As hundreds of people huddled together at the candlelight vigil, a few dozen other people began gathering at two recently closed city parks across the street. They started to dismantle the chainlink fence that surrounded the parks and moved parts of the fence into the street around 9:30 p.m.
...dozens of federal officers emerged from the next-door federal office building. Protesters stood several feet away near the intersection of Southwest Third Avenue and Madison Street.
Federal officers within minutes used impact munitions, stun grenades and some type of gas to force people to leave. Journalists for The Oregonian/OregonLive did not see a precipitating event that prompted officers to deploy those tactics.
People shouted, “Go home!” as federal officers advanced toward them. Some officers wore camouflage uniforms and others wore darker uniforms marked with the Department of Homeland Security.
quite a lot of photos in this article, and a step-by-step description of how the night’s unfolded.
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 9:06:39 AM MDT · CathyM
At least one Portland commissioner was out last night, calling for Feds to leave:
www.koin.com/…
Hardesty calls for feds to leave on steps of Justice Center
The City Commissioner organized a candlelight vigil Friday evening
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty spoke out against the federal response Friday evening outside the Justice Center.
This comes a day after protesters were doused with hefty amounts of tear gas and hit with impact munitions Thursday night….Community leaders joined Hardesty on the steps of the Justice Center to call for federal forces to leave Friday night. She called for a peaceful protest and said Portlanders’ rights to free speech and assembly need to be protected, and called for an end to the violence “perpetrated against protesters.”
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 9:07:48 AM MDT · CathyM
Pelosi reacts:
Nancy Pelosi
@SpeakerPelosi
·13h
Unidentified stormtroopers. Unmarked cars. Kidnapping protesters and causing severe injuries in response to graffiti.These are not the actions of a democratic republic.
@DHSgov’s actions in Portland undermine its mission.Trump & his stormtroopers must be stopped.
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 9:09:09 AM MDT · CathyM
Here’s a reminder that is nauseating:
Garrett M. Graff
@vermontgmg
·13h
Angry about Portland? Remember none of the DHS leaders were Senate confirmed. We have an acting Sec, acting Dep Sec, acting head of CBP, acting head of ICE. It’s been that way for over a *year*.
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 9:37:28 AM MDT · CathyM
Spudsy posted a very good link to legal analysis of this:
www.lawfareblog.com/…
It addresses questions such as which officers are being used, which laws are being used as reasons, what authority do these officers have? Well worth reading all of it!
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 9:48:30 AM MDT · CathyM
This is nauseating, under the circumstances:
Acting Secretary Chad Wolf
@DHS_Wolf
· 4m
Let us always honor the legacy of Rep. John Lewis. America is a more just place because of his sacrifices.
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 10:40:19 AM MDT · CathyM
Coverage from Time Magazine (I’m glad this issue is getting national attention! Bolding mine):
time.com/…
Portland Mayor Demands Trump Remove Militarized Agents From City After Protesters Detained
(PORTLAND, Ore.) — The mayor of Portland demanded Friday that President Donald Trump remove militarized federal agents he deployed to the city after some detained people on streets far from federal property they were sent to protect.
“Keep your troops in your own buildings, or have them leave our city,” Mayor Ted Wheeler said at a news conference….
Federal officers have charged at least 13 people with crimes related to the protests so far, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported Thursday. Some have been detained by the federal courthouse, which has been the scene of protests. But others were grabbed blocks away.
“This is part of the core media strategy out of Trump’s White House: to use federal troops to bolster his sagging polling data,” Wheeler said. “And it is an absolute abuse of federal law enforcement officials.”
One video showed two people in helmets and green camouflage with “police” patches grabbing a person on the sidewalk, handcuffing them and taking them into an unmarked vehicle.
continue. (Peaceful protesters were "seized and detained" without probable cause by paramilitary forces in unmarked cause.") »
Oregon Will Sue Feds to Stop Unmarked Detentions
CathyM
Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)
Saturday July 18, 2020 · 7:54 AM MDT
Recommend 149 Share Tweet 94 Comments 94 New
Police stand as protesters gather during a demonstration, Thursday, July 16, 2020 in Portland, Ore. Federal officers deployed tear gas and fired less-lethal rounds into a crowd of protesters late Thursday. The actions came just hours after the head of the Department of Homeland Security called the protesters “violent anarchists.†(Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP)
I just saw this on the Oregonian — good news! I’ll update with more when I get it:
https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/07/oregon-will-sue-federal-police-agencies-open-criminal-investigation-into-use-of-force.html
Oregon will sue federal police agencies, open criminal investigation into use of force
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced late Friday that her office would sue several federal law enforcement agencies over their response to Portland protests and launch a criminal investigation into an incident of force by federal officers.
Rosenblum is seeking a temporary restraining order to stop federal officers from detaining Portlanders, arguing federal agencies seized and detained Oregonians without probable cause. She said the state’s lawsuit in federal court will name the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Protection Service as defendants.
...Rosenblum also said the state and the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office would criminally investigate the shooting by federal officers of Donavan La Bella in the face with a less-lethal munition Saturday, critically injuring him. La Bella’s hands were above his head when he was shot.
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 7:57:53 AM MDT · CathyM
This is from yesterday, but important: Wyden, Merkley, Bonamici and Blumenaur have asked for an investigation:
WydenMerkleyetclettertoWolf-getOUT.jpg
this is page two:
WydenMerkleyetclettertoWolf-getOUT.jpg
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 8:05:19 AM MDT · CathyM
Here’s more from Willamette Week:
www.wweek.com/…
Oregon Attorney General Sues to Stop Federal Arrests of Portland Protesters
“Every American should be repulsed when they see this happening. If this can happen here in Portland, it can happen anywhere.”
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
...As the top law enforcement official in Oregon, Rosenblum is asking a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order against four federal agencies: the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Federal Protective Service, which guards federal buildings.
In late June, President Donald Trump created a task force out of those four agencies to defend federal monuments and buildings from protesters. He has chiefly deployed them to one city: Portland, where they have used the wide powers granted to federal police in spite of the objections of local officials.
If a judge grants Rosenblum the injunction, it would limit the authority of federal police to make street arrests without meeting the typical standard held to by cops: probable cause that a crime is being committed.
Which seems like the minimum standard to be held to!!
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 8:07:30 AM MDT · CathyM
Short video of ACLU official observers in Portland last night:
https://twitter.com/MrOlmos/status/1284420208707252226
Sergio Olmos
@MrOlmos
ACLU legal observers in Portland
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 8:16:32 AM MDT · CathyM
I want to be objective in this — photos are emerging on Twitter of protesters using sections of fence to block the doors of the Federal Courthouse… that is provocation, and certainly needs to be addressed — apparently they were pushed away with smoke bombs:
PDXprotestersblockdoors.jpg
credit: Dave Killen, Oregonian
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 8:33:29 AM MDT · CathyM
And not at all surprisingly, Dana from OAN posted a sensationalist photo and clutches her pearls on twitter (I won’t repost photo — it’s just odd)
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 8:40:50 AM MDT · CathyM
I’m reviewing how the rightwingers are reporting this on Twitter — talk about an alternative universe!! But sadly there are a few violent protesters, which gives them an opening to condemn the city for “not responding”… this is the kind of crap being posted (by one of Portland’s notorious non-journalist wimps):
Andy Ngô
@MrAndyNgo
·
14h
Lilith Sinclair, a Portland antifa activist & sex worker, says she is organizing for the abolition of the police & United States at an event outside the federal courthouse today. She is applauded by the audience & joined by religious clergy.
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 8:48:48 AM MDT · CathyM
This is NOT good news, if confirmed (my bold):
Josh Marshall
@joshtpm
· 10h
Deputy Secretary of DHS Ken Cuccinelli tells NPR not only are they not stopping the Portland tactics they're going to take them nationwide. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/dhs-under-boss-were-taking-this-national
via @TPM
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 9:01:06 AM MDT · CathyM
Here’s a bit more on last night’s protest- apparently Portland cops and Feds acting “in tandem” (bolding mine):
www.oregonlive.com/…
...The overnight force against protesters by federal police came soon after Oregon’s attorney general announced she was suing several federal agencies over the arrests of protesters. Several other state and local officials, including Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, also criticized the federal presence.
Yet after Portland police declared the downtown demonstration to be unlawful early Saturday morning, federal and local officers emerged at the same time to advance on protesters. Some demonstrators had piled fence parts in front of some entrances to government buildings.
At a press conference hours before the demonstration began, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said city officials “communicate with federal officers for the purpose of situational awareness and de-confliction.” But he said they do not act at one another’s direction.
...As hundreds of people huddled together at the candlelight vigil, a few dozen other people began gathering at two recently closed city parks across the street. They started to dismantle the chainlink fence that surrounded the parks and moved parts of the fence into the street around 9:30 p.m.
...dozens of federal officers emerged from the next-door federal office building. Protesters stood several feet away near the intersection of Southwest Third Avenue and Madison Street.
Federal officers within minutes used impact munitions, stun grenades and some type of gas to force people to leave. Journalists for The Oregonian/OregonLive did not see a precipitating event that prompted officers to deploy those tactics.
People shouted, “Go home!” as federal officers advanced toward them. Some officers wore camouflage uniforms and others wore darker uniforms marked with the Department of Homeland Security.
quite a lot of photos in this article, and a step-by-step description of how the night’s unfolded.
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 9:06:39 AM MDT · CathyM
At least one Portland commissioner was out last night, calling for Feds to leave:
www.koin.com/…
Hardesty calls for feds to leave on steps of Justice Center
The City Commissioner organized a candlelight vigil Friday evening
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty spoke out against the federal response Friday evening outside the Justice Center.
This comes a day after protesters were doused with hefty amounts of tear gas and hit with impact munitions Thursday night….Community leaders joined Hardesty on the steps of the Justice Center to call for federal forces to leave Friday night. She called for a peaceful protest and said Portlanders’ rights to free speech and assembly need to be protected, and called for an end to the violence “perpetrated against protesters.”
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 9:07:48 AM MDT · CathyM
Pelosi reacts:
Nancy Pelosi
@SpeakerPelosi
·13h
Unidentified stormtroopers. Unmarked cars. Kidnapping protesters and causing severe injuries in response to graffiti.These are not the actions of a democratic republic.
@DHSgov’s actions in Portland undermine its mission.Trump & his stormtroopers must be stopped.
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 9:09:09 AM MDT · CathyM
Here’s a reminder that is nauseating:
Garrett M. Graff
@vermontgmg
·13h
Angry about Portland? Remember none of the DHS leaders were Senate confirmed. We have an acting Sec, acting Dep Sec, acting head of CBP, acting head of ICE. It’s been that way for over a *year*.
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 9:37:28 AM MDT · CathyM
Spudsy posted a very good link to legal analysis of this:
www.lawfareblog.com/…
It addresses questions such as which officers are being used, which laws are being used as reasons, what authority do these officers have? Well worth reading all of it!
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 9:48:30 AM MDT · CathyM
This is nauseating, under the circumstances:
Acting Secretary Chad Wolf
@DHS_Wolf
· 4m
Let us always honor the legacy of Rep. John Lewis. America is a more just place because of his sacrifices.
Saturday, Jul 18, 2020 · 10:40:19 AM MDT · CathyM
Coverage from Time Magazine (I’m glad this issue is getting national attention! Bolding mine):
time.com/…
Portland Mayor Demands Trump Remove Militarized Agents From City After Protesters Detained
(PORTLAND, Ore.) — The mayor of Portland demanded Friday that President Donald Trump remove militarized federal agents he deployed to the city after some detained people on streets far from federal property they were sent to protect.
“Keep your troops in your own buildings, or have them leave our city,” Mayor Ted Wheeler said at a news conference….
Federal officers have charged at least 13 people with crimes related to the protests so far, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported Thursday. Some have been detained by the federal courthouse, which has been the scene of protests. But others were grabbed blocks away.
“This is part of the core media strategy out of Trump’s White House: to use federal troops to bolster his sagging polling data,” Wheeler said. “And it is an absolute abuse of federal law enforcement officials.”
One video showed two people in helmets and green camouflage with “police” patches grabbing a person on the sidewalk, handcuffing them and taking them into an unmarked vehicle.
