A judge on Monday ordered federal police to stay penned inside a one-block radius from the courthouse in Portland, ruling that they were violating protesters’ rights when they went into crowds blocks away to try to arrest agitators.
U.S. District Judge Judge Michael W. Mosman said President Trump’s heated rhetoric and vows of retaliation against the Portland protesters forced his hand.
He said those protesters had a right to a “zone of safety where they can peacefully protest without fear of retaliation.”
“I have limited defendants’ crowd control activities to an extended city block around the U.S. courthouse,” he wrote.
He called that area the “Excluded Zone,” and said federal officers and agents can continue to do their regular crowd control duties there. But beyond that zone, they cannot use crowd control.
It’s not clear how his order would affect protests at the ICE office building, which stands miles away in South Portland, and has been the scene of some violent clashes over the last four months of demonstrations and riots.
In July, when protesters were staging nightly attacks on the federal courthouse, Homeland Security deployed additional agents and officers to protect the building. Those police would often send sorties out beyond the perimeter of the courthouse to clear streets or target specific agitators.
Those moves prompted complaints from local officials, and several investigations have been launched to figure out if agents and officers crossed any lines.
Mr. Trump repeatedly slammed the protesters and insisted federal agents should give no quarter.
Judge Mosman, a George W. Bush appointee, said those comments suggested a retaliatory motive, which he said trampled on the protesters’ rights.
Activist groups cheered his ruling limiting federal agents to the one-block perimeter.
“President Trump didn’t just pick a fight with the city of Portland, he picked a fight with all Americans who believe in the U.S. Constitution. And he lost,” said Eric Ward, executive director of Western States Center, the lead plaintiff.
