ACLU Asks Judge to Find Federal Agents in Portland in Contempt of Court for Violating Order

The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon on Tuesday asked U.S. District Judge Michael Simon to find federal agents in contempt of the court for violating a July 23 restraining order that prohibited the federal officers from attacking journalists and legal observers covering Portland protests.

The ACLU also asked Judge Simon to order acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli to "personally appear before the court and show cause as to why they should not be sanctioned for contempt."

It is also asking the judge to order "each federal agent who violated the restraining order to be identified, personally appear, and be prohibited from engaging in armed operations in Portland."

"Every day it has existed, federal agents have intentionally violated the court's [order]," the court filing says. "As a result of the federal agents' defiance of the court's order, the free press remains unsafe while trying to document and observe the cataclysmic violence that federal authorities are inflicting on Portland."

Read more: https://www.wweek.com/news/courts/2020/07/28/aclu-asks-judge-to-find-federal-agents-in-portland-in-contempt-of-court-for-violating-order/
(Williamette Week)