PORTLAND, OR– Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum initially tried to use video footage of an arrest in San Diego to prove that federal authorities have been arresting protesters in Portland without reason.
Rosenblum seems to have confused the San Diego arrest with Portland and now she is lacking the evidence needed for her lawsuit, which has been called “highly unusual” by the federal judge hearing the case.
According to Legal Newsline, Rosenblum lost her bid for a temporary restraining order, and had to apologize to the court for trying to use the footage from California. So far, she has failed to introduce enough material to prove unlawful arrests are currently happening in Portland in the four-block area that has become the center of protests, following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
#NEW: U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman denies an order sought by Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum to stop federal agents from arresting people during protests in Portland.
Judge Mosman ruled the state lacks standing to sue on behalf of protesters. https://t.co/S75CN36HF8
— Jennifer Franco (@jennfranconews) July 24, 2020
This four-block area where the protests are taking place also includes a federal courthouse that has been heavily vandalized numerous times over the last 50 plus days. Various federal agencies including Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection, the U.S. Marshals, and the Federal Protective Service are involved in Rosenblum’s lawsuit.
Allegedly, Rosenblum’s motion for a temporary restraining order, which was denied, contained references to three videos. The third video on Rosenblum’s list showed police seizing a woman and putting her into a van.
According to Rosenblum’s motion, she said:
“The identity of the woman is not known to the Attorney General. The Attorney General must have assumed the defendants were responsible, based on the similarity of the tactics in that second video to those in the first.”
Her motion continued:
“Without the ‘police’ marking on the assailants’ vests, the video would appear to be of an armed kidnapping.”
According to OPB, Rosenblum was asking U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman to issue a temporary restraining order to stop federal authorities from unlawfully detaining Oregonians. Rosenblum was specifically requesting that federal officers need to identify themselves and their agencies, as well as the reasoning for their actions before detaining or arresting people.
BREAKING: A U.S. judge has denied an order sought by Oregon’s top law enforcement officer to stop federal agents from making arrests during nightly protests in Portland that have roiled the city. https://t.co/nrXtGOKafh
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 24, 2020
The attorneys representing the various federal agencies said that Judge Mosman should deny the temporary restraining order request as the restraining order would hinder the split-second judgement calls that federal law enforcement officers have to make while protecting federal property, as well as themselves during dynamic and chaotic situations.
Unfortunately for Rosenblum, that video she was referring to was actually taken in San Diego, not Portland. Rosenblum did not figure this out until after she included the evidence in her motion. Back on July 21st, she filed a notice to withdraw the video as evidence, and apologized to the court as well as the opposing lawyers.
She said in a statement:
“This error was unintentional and thought to have been of an event that occurred in Portland, Oregon.”
With that video being removed from evidence, Rosenblum only had two others to rely on, and that was not enough for Judge Mosman to declare that federal authorities have been frequently arresting protesters in Portland without cause, and that an injunction is needed to stop similar activity.
Judge Mosman said in a statement following his decision:
“The State could try to show, for example, that all of defendants’ seizures are illegal or that they are under orders to fail to identify themselves or to make random arrests without probable cause.”
He continued:
“The State has shown none of this. It has presented no evidence of any official orders or policies and has presented no evidence that these allegedly illegal seizures are a widespread practice. Despite the broad language in the complaint, Oregon has shown, at most, that this type of seizure has happened twice.”
BREAKING STORY : Federal judge finds state lacks standing, denies Oregon attorney general’s @ORDOJ motion to restrict federal police actions https://t.co/s9mmMPlaJ0
— Maxine Bernstein (@maxoregonian) July 24, 2020
Judge Mosman’s decision found that Rosenblum lacked the evidence to support an injunction against future police brutality and seizures.
The chaos and madness has been going on for far too long in Portland, and federal agents taking control of the city is its only hope at this point. Here is more on the raging violence.
PORTLAND, OR – On May 25th, George Floyd encountered four police officers who developed probable cause for his arrest regarding a counterfeit bill transaction.
As the world knows, something happened and George Floyd was taken to the ground. Former Officer Derek Chauvin, for whatever reason, decided to keep Floyd pinned to the ground which ultimately contributed to his untimely death.
On May 29th, Chauvin was arrested and charged for killing Floyd, and shortly after, the remaining officers were also taken into custody.
The quick termination and arrest of those involved in the murder of Floyd apparently was not enough for many people across the United States, specifically in Portland, where there have been nightly protests and riots, which have been occurring for 60 straight days.
Portland rioters use lasers to assault federal agents
“Violent extremists are ramping up the use of these & other weapons that are causing severe bodily harm to our Agents,” CBP Chief Rodney Scott said.. pic.twitter.com/GopS6HGYkr
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 27, 2020
On Sunday night, the normal protests and riots occurred in Portland, only this time there was also a shooting, which left one person injured.
The shooting happened around 7:30pm in the area of Southwest Fourth and Salmon St near the federal building in which federal police have set up a perimeter. Police advised that witnesses in the area have not provided a clear motive in the shooting other than a group of people were arguing, and there were several guns displayed.
At one point, a round was fired, striking the unidentified person who was taken by a private party to the hospital. The person is expected to recover.
Although two people were originally detained in regards to the shooting, both have been released. Police advise this shooting is still under investigation.
In an unrelated incident, police arrested 43-year-old Blake David Hampe, a convicted sex offender, early Saturday morning for allegedly stabbing someone near the federal courthouse.
In this case, a group of reporters from Common Sense Conservative noticed they were being followed while covering the riots by who they believed were members of Antifa due to them wearing masks. Drew Duncomb, a black conservative, confronted one of the people and asked why he was following the group.
In response, the masked white man stabbed Duncomb and attempted to leave. However, a group of protesters encircled the man and prevented him from leaving so that police could arrest him. Duncomb was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive.
The Violent Antifa’s name is Blake David Hampe; he’s a Convicted Pedophile.
His bail is set at $250,000 pic.twitter.com/a8Yo02pCun
— Brandon Farley • Portland Protest Reporter (@FarleyMedia) July 25, 2020
A mob beats a man in the middle of downtown Portland. They say he stabbed someone. #PortlandRiots #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/UlbHsIqRWp
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) July 25, 2020
Near the scene of the stabbing, in Lownsdale Square Park (in front of the federal courthouse) Portland Police located several items stowed away, including loaded rifle magazines and Molotov cocktails.
It does not appear the stabbing is related to the found explosives or munitions.
In addition to these items being located, reports of people firing commercial-grade fireworks and throwing cans of beans, water bottles, and potatoes at the federal police guarding the courthouse.
Tonight Portland Police were near Lownsdale Square Park. A person pointed out a bag to them. Inside the bag Police found loaded rifle magazines and Molotov cocktails pic.twitter.com/ytpu9pZjqG
— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) July 27, 2020
In a response to the growing violence centered now around the federal courthouse, additional federal police are being sent to Portland to deal with the unrest and rioting.
Of course, democrats raise concern that the federal police are using excessive force in dealing with the rioters and protesters in the area.
In one such example, Donavan La Bella was holding a speaker above his head and did not appear to be threatening in any manner. Someone from the US Marshall’s Office fired a less lethal round, striking him in the head. This incident is currently being investigated by those who oversee the federal officers in Portland.
There are some that claim that the protests and riots appeared to be getting less frequent until the federal police arrived. However, the riots have gone on for 60 days in a row, and the feds have only been in town for a little over a week.
Additionally, there appears to be no end in sight.
Assistant US Attorney Craig Gabriel said in a press conference:
“People are angry. Very large crowds are gathering, marching, shouting, and expressing deep and legitimate anger and frustration with police and the justice system. People all across Portland are protesting in constitutionally protected ways. And they’ve done so for the last 57 days and nights.”
And while he is right, while there are plenty of protesters who are doing it right, he’s leaving out the other part of the group that filters in with the peaceful protesters and incites violence, and a lot of people are getting fed up with that, including the Portland NAACP president, E.D. Mondaine.
In an op-ed published in the Washington post, Mondaine said that the protests had become a spectacle and “white people” have “hijacked” the fight.
Last Thursday, Mondaine told a crowd:
“The focus has been moved up from where it is supposed to be and made to be a spectacle, a debacle, in the systems and eyes of America. But we cannot let this debacle stay in the streets. We cannot fight it just in the streets. We cannot fight it with the voices that stand in this square.”
Activist Fahiym Acuay, who goes by Smiff, feels that the criticism of Mondaine undercuts the “movement.” However, he does believe that white people being involved are not as much at risk as people of color.
He said:
“They don’t face the same risks as us. I know sometimes I want to go and throw smoke bombs back at the cops. Sometimes I want to go and set some shit on fire, but I know I can’t do that. They will find me. They will lock me up forever. We can’t sit there and be like, ‘We want to raise our fists and sing, “We Shall Not Be Moved” until 2 in the morning.’
“That’s fine. Do that shit. Someone else was like, “Yo, we need to throw eggs at the cops.” That’s what you want to do, do it. It’s all protest. It’s not violence.”
Acuay believes that white people need to be present, if only to ensure that the protests and riots continue:
“Any protest that is of any significant size in Portland is going to be mostly white. We can’t be out there with a hundred people every night, they’re going to arrest us all.”
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