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ACLU Files Suit Against DHS, Marshals, Portland Police for Allegedly Detaining Journalists and Legal Observers

Two independent journalists say the police attacked them as they documented the protests despite clear press identification.

The Oregon branch of the American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit against federal and local authorities for allegedly detaining legal observers and journalists without cause during the city’s ongoing protests. The civil rights organization is seeking an injunction against the U.S. Marshals, the Department of Homeland Security, or the Portland police arresting or using force against journalists and legal observers unless officers “reasonably know” the person in question has committed a crime. Two independent journalists say the police attacked them as they documented the protests despite clear press identification. The city’s mayor has called for the visiting federal officers and the visiting secretary of Homeland Security to leave after law enforcement deputies without badges in unmarked cars drove through the city and abducted protesters from the street Thursday night.