Portland protest groups sue US over tear gas, rubber bullets
- President Donald Trump has deployed the agents to quell two months of chaotic protests in Portland, Oregon
- Demonstrators have targeted a US courthouse with rocks and fireworks while agents used tear gas, ‘less-lethal’ ammunition
Two groups protesting US agents sent to Portland by President Donald Trump to tamp down demonstrations outside a federal courthouse have sued the Department of Homeland Security, alleging it violated the Constitution by sending federal law enforcement to disperse crowds with tear gas and rubber bullets.
The Wall of Moms – a group of self-described mothers – and the Don’t Shoot Portland group filed the lawsuit against Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and other federal officials.
Members of the group of mothers have “been tear-gassed night after night, left vomiting and unable to eat or sleep because of the toxic poison blasted at them,” the lawsuit said.
It claimed the tactics are unlawful and said the presence of the agents in Portland violates “a foundational principle of American democracy” because the agents are essentially performing local police duties that are reserved for state and local authorities.
The lawsuit was filed in US District Court in Washington DC after Portland’s mayor and the leaders of five other major US cities appealed to Congress to make it illegal for the US government to deploy agents to cities that don’t want them.