PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge in Oregon has temporarily stopped President Donald Trump’s administration from sending the National Guard to Portland. The decision came on Saturday, following a lawsuit filed by the state and city.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut issued this temporary block while awaiting further discussions in the case. Judge Immergut explained that the relatively small protests occurring in the city did not warrant the use of federal forces and doing so could infringe upon Oregon’s state rights.
Judge Immergut noted, “Our nation has a long-standing tradition of resisting excessive governmental power, particularly when it involves military intervention in civilian matters.” She added, “At the core of this tradition is the belief that our country is governed by Constitutional law, not martial rule.”
The lawsuit from state and city officials came soon after the Trump administration revealed plans to federalize 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to protect federal properties. The President described the city as “war-ravaged.”
Oregon leaders dismissed this description as ridiculous. Recently, nightly protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building have been gathering only about two dozen participants, prior to the proposed deployment.
Judge: The federal response didn’t match the facts
Usually, the president is given “significant flexibility” to federalize National Guard troops in situations where regular law enforcement can’t enforce U.S. laws, according to the judge. However, she noted that this situation in Portland does not meet that criterion.
Plaintiffs were able to show that the demonstrations at the immigration building were not significantly violent or disruptive ahead of the president’s order, the judge wrote, and “overall, the protests were small and uneventful.”
“The President’s determination was simply untethered to the facts,” Immergut wrote.
White House suggests an appeal is coming
Following the ruling, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said that “President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement — we expect to be vindicated by a higher court.”
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield called the ruling “a healthy check on the president.”
“It reaffirms what we already knew: Portland is not the president’s war-torn fantasy. Our city is not ravaged, and there is no rebellion,” Rayfield said in a statement. He added: “Members of the Oregon National Guard are not a tool for him to use in his political theater.”
Trump has deployed or threatened to deploy troops in several U.S. cities, particularly ones led by Democrats, including Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago and Memphis. Speaking Tuesday to U.S. military leaders in Virginia, he proposed using cities as training grounds for the armed forces.
Last month a federal judge ruled that the president’s deployment of some 4,700 National Guard soldiers and Marines in Los Angeles this year was illegal, but he allowed the 300 who remain in the city to stay as long as they do not enforce civilian laws. The Trump administration appealed, and an appellate panel has put the lower court’s block on hold while it moves forward.
Portland protests were small, but grew after deployment was announced
The Portland protests have been limited to a one-block area in a city that covers about 145 square miles (375 square km) and has about 636,000 residents.
They grew somewhat following the Sept. 28 announcement of the guard deployment. The Portland Police Bureau, which has said it does not participate in immigration enforcement and only intervenes in the protests if there is vandalism or criminal activity, arrested two people on assault charges. A peaceful march earlier that day drew thousands to downtown and saw no arrests, police said.
On Saturday, before the ruling was released, roughly 400 people marched to the ICE facility. The crowd included people of all ages and races, families with children and older people using walkers. Federal agents responded with chemical crowd control munitions, including tear gas canisters and less-lethal guns that sprayed pepper balls. At least six people were arrested as the protesters reached the ICE facility.
Trump sent federal officers to Portland over the objections of local and state leaders in 2020 during long-running racial justice protests following George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police. The administration sent hundreds of agents for the stated purpose of protecting the federal courthouse and other federal property from vandalism.
That deployment antagonized demonstrators and prompted nightly clashes. Federal officers fired rubber bulled and used tear gas.
Viral videos captured federal officers arresting people and hustling them into unmarked vehicles. A report by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general found that while the federal government had legal authority to deploy the officers, many of them lacked the training and equipment necessary for the mission.
The government agreed this year to settle an excessive force lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union by paying compensating several plaintiffs for their injuries.
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Boone reported from Boise, Idaho. Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed.
