Tipsheet

The Judicial Coup Continues: Judge Blocks ICE From Using Tear Gas on Leftist Agitators in Portland

A federal judge appointed by President Barack Obama has issued a protective order restricting federal agents from using crowd control methods like tear gas or pepper balls against radical leftist agitators who have besieged Portland’s ICE detention facility.

Judge Michael Simon, appointed to his District Court seat by Obama in 2010, issued the decision on Tuesday evening. A similar ruling had been issued by a federal court in January as protests began to escalate in Minneapolis, but was eventually struck down. This attempt will likely meet the same fate.

Included in the ruling is, sadly, a prohibition on federal agents wielding their newly-deployed tear gas mortars. Agents began using these to curb the assault on the facility earlier this week.

Simon issued a similar ruling against the use of crowd control methods in 2020 when Portland rioted after the death of George Floyd.