Front Lines of Portland Protests Joined by a “Wall of Vets,”; and Judge Rules that Federal Agents are Allowed to Hide Identity.
Last week, federal officers in Portland, Oregon brutally struck a Navy veteran. This was after he approached them to ask a question. As a result, a group of military veterans have now joined the front lines of the growing protests. The number is now in the thousands.
Dustin Obermeyer said he joined other veterans in the protest to protect free speech.
“Our veterans are here specifically to support the rights of the protesters to protest.”
The group of vets lined themselves up in front of a fence. This was despite the health issues some of them might be facing, such as severe arthritis. They stood outside of the federal courthouse. They were able to stay together until federal officials used a cloud of tear gas to scatter the crowd.
Although the protesters have been repeatedly labeled by Trump and the Department of Homeland Security as “violent anarchists,” many of the groups banding together seem to be anything but.
For example, a “Wall of Moms” included hundreds of women linking their arms while wearing yellow shirts in solidarity. A “Wall of Dads” in orange shirts and leaf blowers to kept tear gas away from the crowds. Other groups have included nurses, who showed up in blue scrubs.
Local officials have pleaded for the federal agents to leave the city, saying that their presence inflames tensions.
Clint Hall, another veteran, agreed that the federal presence has increased tensions.
“Things were getting better and then they came here and made it worse,” said Hall. “Enough is enough.”
Hall suffered from tear gas that the authorities shot into the crowd. He said that it was worse than the tear gas he experienced while serving time in the Army.
“This response from the feds is over the top,” said Hall.
Related: Portland Mayor: Federal Authorities are Escalating Tensions
Typically, police must identify themselves before they make arrests or serve a warrant. However, a federal judge in Portland has now ruled that federal agents do not have to identify themselves before arresting subjects.
Buzzfeed reported that US District Judge Michael Mosman “denied a request by the Oregon attorney general’s office for an order that would require federal law enforcement officers in Portland to identify themselves when making arrests and place limits on the detention and arrests of protesters.”
However, US District Judge Michael Simon ruled in favor of restricting the federal officers. At least, in regard to what the officers could and couldn’t do to legal observers and journalists in Portland.
His ruling banned the officers from arresting observers and journalists unless they had probable cause of a crime. The judge also said that these same groups didn’t have to follow dispersal orders.
“Without journalists and legal observers, there is only the government’s side of the story to explain why a ‘riot’ was declared and the public streets were ‘closed’ and whether law enforcement acted properly in effectuating that order,” wrote Simon.
Related: Wall of Dads With Leaf Blowers Join Wall of Moms in Portland
