Federal Officers Use Unmarked Vehicles To Grab Protesters

allnurses Guide · Jul 17, 2020

Federal Officers Use Unmarked Vehicles To Grab Protesters In Portland Streets

In the early hours of July 15, after a night spent protesting at the Multnomah County Justice Center and Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse, Mark Pettibone and his friend Conner O'Shea decided to head home. It had been a calm night compared to most protesting downtown. By 2 a.m. law enforcement hadn't used any tear gas and, with only a few exceptions, both the Portland Police Bureau and federal law enforcement officers had stayed out of sight. A block west of Chapman Square, Pettibone and O'Shea bumped into a group of people who warned them that people in camouflage were driving around the area in unmarked minivans grabbing people off the street.

They had barely made it half a block when an unmarked minivan pulled up in front of them. "I see guys in camo," O'Shea said. "Four or five of them pop out, open the door and it was just like, 'Oh s**t. I don't know who you are or what you want with us.'"

Federal law enforcement officers have been using unmarked vehicles to drive around downtown Portland and detain protesters since at least July 14. Personal accounts and multiple videos posted online show the officers driving up to people, detaining individuals with no explanation about why they are being arrested, and driving off...

... In a statement, the U.S. Marshals Service declined to comment on the practice of using unmarked vehicles, but said their officers had not arrested Pettibone. Federal officers have charged at least 13 people with crimes related to the protests so far, while others have been arrested and released, including Pettibone...

Pettibone said he was put into a cell. Soon after, two officers came in to read him his Miranda rights. They didn't tell him why he was being arrested. He said they asked him if he wanted to waive his rights and answer some questions, but Pettibone declined and said he wanted a lawyer. The interview was terminated, and about 90 minutes later he was released. He said he did not receive any paperwork, citation or record of his arrest…

https://www.npr.org/2020/07/17/892277592/federal-officers-use-unmarked-vehicles-to-grab-protesters-in-portland

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jul 17, 2020

Oregon Public Broadcasting

7/17/20

Federal Law Enforcement Use Unmarked Vehicles To Grab Protesters Off Portland Streets

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..Federal law enforcement officers have been using unmarked vehicles to drive around downtown Portland and detain protesters since at least July 14. Personal accounts and multiple videos posted online show the officers driving up to people, detaining individuals with no explanation of why they are being arrested, and driving off.
The tactic appears to be another escalation in federal force deployed on Portland city streets, as federal officials and President Donald Trump have said they plan to “quell” nightly protests outside the federal courthouse and Multnomah County Justice Center that have lasted for more than six weeks.
...Federal officers have charged at least 13 people with crimes related to the protests so far, while others have been arrested and released, including Pettibone. They also left one demonstrator hospitalized with skull fractures after shooting him in the face with so-called “less lethal” munitions July 11.
Officers from the U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group and Customs and Border Protection’s BORTAC, have been sent to Portland to protect federal property during the recent protests against racism and police brutality.
But interviews conducted by OPB show officers are also detaining people on Portland streets who aren’t near federal property, nor is it clear that all of the people being arrested have engaged in criminal activity. Demonstrators like O’Shea and Pettibone said they think they were targeted by federal officers for simply wearing black clothing in the area of the demonstration...
https://www.opb.org/news/article/federal-law-enforcement-unmarked-vehicles-portland-protesters/

Political Fight Over Violence By Federal Officers In Portland Deepens

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Two days after federal law enforcement officers shot an unarmed protester in the head with “less lethal” munitions, causing severe injuries, President Trump lauded officers currently deployed in Portland. His comments were part of a growing conflict between city, state and federal officials over the presence of federal law enforcement at ongoing protests....
...On Saturday night, a federal officer shot a crowd control device and severely injured Donavan LaBella, 26, who was standing across from the federal courthouse holding a speaker playing music over his head. The impact munition shot by a federal officer hit LaBella in the face, leaving him hospitalized with facial and skull fractures.
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden said Monday in Portland that the president has a dangerous fixation with strong-arming peaceful protesters.
“What America does not need is Donald Trump parachuting federal law enforcement into U.S. cities as if they’re enemy strongholds requiring an occupying army to suppress,” Wyden said...
https://www.opb.org/news/article/portland-federal-officers-violence-political-fight-trump/

allnurses Guide · Jul 17, 2020

Gov. Brown on federal officers in Portland for protests: Trump’s troops not the answer

Mayor Ted Wheeler said the actions of a federal officer who fired a crowd control weapon and seriously injured a protester were unacceptable...

... Nightly protests, mostly peaceful, have been going on in Portland for six weeks following the death of George Floyd. But a small group of protesters are clashing with Portland police, and now federal officers, on a nightly basis.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said the street violence, as she called it, has to stop to allow for systemic change to happen. But she also said, “I don't believe that President Trump ordering troops to the streets in Portland is the solution to the challenges we're facing and I would ask Portlanders to not take the bait.”

The president certainly thinks federal firepower is working, despite the life-threatening injury to a peaceful protester...

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/protests/local-and-state-leaders-speak-out-about-federal-officer-severely-injuring-protester/283-6843803f-c8ec-4ac3-a812-1b0dabf735c3

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jul 18, 2020

Lawfareblog.com

Friday, July 17, 2020

What the Heck Are Federal Law Enforcement Officers Doing in Portland?

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...By all appearances, there are now at least 100 federal law enforcement officers on the ground in Portland. But media reports suggest that many of those officers (a) are not wearing identifiable uniforms or other insignia, (b) are not driving marked law enforcement vehicles, and (c) are not identifying themselves either publicly or even to those whom they have detained and arrested. Making matters worse, local authorities—from the mayor to the sheriff to the governor—have repeatedly insisted not only that they don’t want federal assistance but that the federal response is aggravating the situation on the ground. ...
In all of these respects, what’s happening in Portland appears to be a reprise of much of what happened in Washington, D.C., at the beginning of June, when Attorney General William Barr called upon a wide array of statutory authorities to commandeer hundreds of federal law enforcement officers in order to “restore order” in the nation’s capital. At the time, many who both criticized and defended Barr’s actions pointed to the federal government’s unique legal authority over the District of Columbia—implying (whether as a feature or a bug) that the same authorities wouldn’t be available, at least to the same extent, in the 50 states. But if nothing else, the events in Portland appear to underscore that the federal government sees no such distinction—and that it believes it has the power to similarly deploy federal law enforcement authorities across the country, even (if not especially) over the objections of the relevant local and state officials.
All of this raises a host of questions, very few of which can be answered at this point. This post is not meant as a comprehensive explainer but, rather, as an effort to separate out the many distinct (if overlapping) issues that the federal response in Portland appears to raise. Thus, what follows is a list of questions and a few tentative thoughts as to possible answers....
https://www.lawfareblog.com/what-heck-are-federal-law-enforcement-officers-doing-portland

heron, ASN, RN · Jul 20, 2020

This is pure speculation, but I gotta wonder if the agenda isn’t to trigger violence in order to make Trump look like The Great Protector of the American Public. I believe the term is agent provocateur.

Whatever ... I just hope that protesters don’t take the bait. The ONLY way to maintain any moral authority is to stay resolutely non-violent.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jul 20, 2020

2 hours ago, heron said:
This is pure speculation, but I gotta wonder if the agenda isn’t to trigger violence in order to make Trump look like The Great Protector of the American Public. I believe the term is agent provocateur.

This Lincoln Project Ad seems to confirm your thought