A federal judge in Oregon on Tuesday temporarily limited federal officers’ use of tear gas at protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, issuing a 14-day order that drew sharp attention to the boundaries of force during demonstrations. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Michael Simon came just days after federal agents launched gas at a crowd of demonstrators that local officials described as peaceful, including children.
Simon’s temporary restraining order directed federal officers not to use chemical or projectile munitions on people who pose no imminent threat of physical harm, and not on people who are merely trespassing or refusing to disperse. The judge also set a specific constraint on targeting: federal officers were not to fire munitions at the head, neck or torso “unless the officer is legally justified in using deadly force against that person.”
The judge wrote that the country “is now at a crossroads” and said that in a constitutional democratic republic, “free speech, courageous newsgathering, and nonviolent protest are all permitted, respected, and even celebrated.” Simon added that an impartial and independent judiciary operating under the rule of law has a responsibility that it “may not shirk,” in framing the legal posture of the case.
The order came in response to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Oregon, which brought the case on behalf of protesters and freelance journalists covering the demonstrations at the ICE building. The lawsuit names as defendants the Department of Homeland Security and its head, Kristi Noem, as well as President Donald Trump, according to the report.
The ACLU lawsuit argued that federal officers’ use of chemical munitions and excessive force was retaliation against protesters that chills First Amendment rights. The Department of Homeland Security, in response, said federal officers have “followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property,” and said it was taking measures to uphold the rule of law and protect officers and the public from “dangerous rioters,” spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.
The complaint described incidents in which plaintiffs said they were hit by chemical or “less-lethal” munitions while, in their account, they posed no threat. It cited an example involving Richard Eckman, an 83-year-old Vietnam War veteran, and his 84-year-old wife Laurie Eckman, saying federal officers launched chemical munitions at their crowd and that Laurie Eckman was hit in the head with a pepper ball and bled.
The complaint also described what it said were impacts on other people and on journalists. It said a man known for wearing a chicken costume, Jack Dickinson, had munitions aimed at him while posing no threat, including munitions aimed at his face respirator and at his back, and that a tear-gas canister sparked next to his leg and burned a hole in his costume. It further said freelance journalists Hugo Rios and Mason Lake were similarly hit with pepper balls and tear-gassed while marked as press.
Simon’s order also sits alongside other legal action tied to the ICE protests and the use of riot-control weapons. The report said the owner and residents of an affordable housing complex across the street from the ICE building filed a separate lawsuit seeking to restrict federal officers’ use of tear gas because residents have been repeatedly exposed over the past year.
Local officials also criticized the use of chemical munitions. Portland Mayor Keith Wilson demanded ICE leave the city after federal officers used such munitions Saturday at what he described as a “peaceful daytime protest where the vast majority of those present violated no laws, made no threat, and posed no danger to federal forces,” according to the report.
The judge’s order arrived as courts in other cities have weighed restrictions on tear gas and related weapons in protest settings. The report said that last month, a federal appeals court suspended a decision that had prohibited federal officers from using tear gas or pepper spray against peaceful protesters in Minnesota who were not obstructing law enforcement, and that a separate appeals court halted a federal judge’s ruling in Chicago that had restricted riot control weapons unless necessary to prevent an immediate threat. It added that a similar lawsuit filed by the state was before the same judge.
Associated Press writers Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed.