Federal Law Enforcement Use Unmarked Vehicles to Grab Protesters Off Portland Streets
This is from a Public Television web site.
July 16, 2020 2:45 p.m. | Updated: July 16, 2020 7:47 p.m.
UPDATE (7:46 p.m. PT) - 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.
"So that was terrifying to hear," Pettibone said.
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 shit. 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 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.
O'Shea said he ran when he saw people wearing camouflage jump out of an unmarked vehicle. He said he hid when a second unmarked van pursued him.
Video shot by O'Shea and provided to OPB shows a dark screen as O'Shea narrates the scene. Metadata from the video confirms the time and place of the protesters' account.
"Feds are driving around, grabbing people off the streets," O'Shea said on the video. "I didn't do anything ****ing wrong. I'm recording this. I had to let somebody know that this is what happens."
Pettibone did not escape the federal officers.
"I am basically tossed into the van," Pettibone said. "And I had my beanie pulled over my face so I couldn't see and they held my hands over my head."
Comment: "Did not do anything F***ING wrong that the federal agents saw", or at least he thought so. Those federal officers did not screw this up, GIVE ME A BREAK, and there's lots more to this report at the public television web site.
No comments:
Post a Comment