A large number of demonstrators crowded in front of the U.S. courthouse and Portland Justice Center in Portland, Oregon on Tuesday night, before authorities dispersed them from the area early Wednesday.
Video from the scene appears to show police using flash grenades to disperse the crowd. Demonstrations have been held in Portland on a nightly basis for weeks, in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd.
The Trump administration is facing growing pushback – in the courts and on the streets – to sending federal agents to Portland and other cities where protests have spiraled into violence.
Far from tamping down the unrest that followed Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police, the presence of federal agents on the streets of progressive Portland – and particularly allegations they have whisked people away in unmarked cars without probable cause – has energized two months of nightly protests that had begun to devolve into smaller, chaotic crowds.
President Donald Trump’s administration also faces multiple lawsuits questioning its authority to use broad policing powers in cities
One filed Tuesday says federal agents are violating protesters’ 10th Amendment rights by engaging in police activities designated to local and state governments.
The legal action was filed by the Portland-based Western States Center, which helps organize and promote the rights of communities of color and low-income people.
Oregon’s attorney general sued last week, asking a judge to block federal agents’ actions. The state argued that masked agents have arrested people on the street, far from the U.S. courthouse that’s become a target of vandalism, with no probable cause.
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