Portland, Oregon is taking the term crazy train to a whole new level.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is accusing federal agents of arresting protesters without probable cause.
“That is terrifying. It’s terrifying for the people who are being marched into an unknown van by large, unknown men. And it’s going to terrify who witnesses it and everyone who hears about it,” said Sheila H. Potter, chief deputy trial counsel in Rosenblum’s office, during her argument, according to Oregon Live.
She added: “It was designed to terrify to quell protests.”
The Associated Press reports:
The motion for a temporary restraining order asks U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman to command agents from the Department of Homeland Security, the Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Protective Service and the U.S. Marshals Service to immediately stop detaining protesters without probable cause, to identify themselves and their agency before arresting anyone, and to explain why an arrest is taking place.
David Morrell, an attorney for the U.S. government, called the motion “extraordinary” and told the court it was based solely on “a few threadbare declarations” from witnesses and a Twitter video.
“The Hatfield courthouse did not damage itself,” he said, calling the protests “dangerous and volatile.”
It’s not clear when Mosman will rule, but he challenged the state on whether it had the standing to ask for the restraining order. The judge noted that past legal decisions have required a state to establish a very high bar — “quasi-sovereign interest” — to successfully sue the U.S. government.
This is such a shame, so what if the judge rules the feds can’t arrest someone without probable cause. Since July 4th when the federal officers arrived in Portland the 43 people detained were arrested, meaning the federal officers had already established probable cause for the person arrest. It was in some of the arrest reports that federal officers waited for safer opportunities to make arrests.
This is a ruse to make it look like the feds are just randomly throwing people into vans and taking them to a reeducation camp. We know darn well that if people were being detained and not charged there would be a massive amount of lawsuits being filed.
Here’s something really simple protestors can do to stop being tear-gassed…stop trying to burn down the courthouse! If you stop going to the courthouse, the feds will leave.
The insanity in Oregon is mind-blowing.
