A group of racial justice protesters has reached a settlement with the federal government in a lawsuit accusing law enforcement officers sent by President Trump of using excessive force to protect a federal courthouse in 2020.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon announced Tuesday that under the settlement, the federal government must compensate plaintiffs for injuries sustained at the hands of federal agents.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the ACLU of Oregon for more information on specific compensation amounts.
The plaintiffs, who include three military veterans, a college professor and several Black Lives Matter activists, were just blocks away from the federal courthouse in Portland when agents allegedly grabbed them in the street for no reason. One man was included.
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On September 5, 2020, police used chemical irritants and crowd control munitions to disperse protesters during riots in Portland, Oregon, sparked by the killing of George Floyd. (AP)
“We are proud to represent our brave clients,” Kelly Simon, legal director of the ACLU of Oregon, said in a news release. “They were seriously injured by the illegal and aggressive conduct of federal law enforcement, and it is fair and just that they be compensated. Thank you, ACLU of Oregon. We stand with you again and again to ensure that all people are treated with justice and fairness by our government. ”
In 2020, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Portland and across the country for months in response to the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Demonstrators at times clashed with police, and armed federal agents were ordered to Portland to stop the violence.
The lawsuit accuses federal officers of exceeding the limits of their authority and making unlawful arrests and using tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray to try to stop the riot. Almost all of the plaintiffs sustained physical injuries, and some received hospital treatment.
Tear gas is fired at a group of demonstrators during a Black Lives Matter protest at the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, on July 26, 2020. federal employees. (AP)
Video showed the plaintiff in the case, Navy veteran Christopher David, being hit with a baton by an investigator outside the courtroom, and another officer pepper spraying him in the face. David suffered two fractures in his hand during the protest.
The suit alleges that then-acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf was improperly appointed and did not have the authority to send more than 100 employees to Portland. Wolf abruptly resigned in 2021 just before Trump left office, saying he was forced to step down due to “recent events,” including a court ruling that found his appointment illegal.
A subsequent federal investigation report found that militarized federal agents lacked adequate training, equipment, and no plan to respond to protests without support from local law enforcement.
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A mob throws fireworks at police officers during a protest against police brutality near the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, December 31, 2020. (Getty Images)
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Local police arrested hundreds of protesters over a three-month period, and federal agents arrested nearly 100 more at the height of the demonstrations.
“This level of force used against veterans, mothers, and other nonviolent protesters shocked our conscience,” plaintiff and veteran Nicole Dennison said in a news release. “Their treatment of us violated everything we had learned in the military.”
This was one of several lawsuits the ACLU of Oregon filed against the federal government on behalf of protesters and other groups, including journalists and legal observers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
