(CN) — A federal judge on Friday denied the Oregon attorney general's request to stop federal agents from arresting Portland protesters, as nightly protests against police violence continue in the state's largest city.
Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum last week sued the government and requested a temporary restraining order, asking the court to require federal officers to identify themselves, explain to any protester seized that they are being arrested and stop any arrests lacking probable cause.
U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman, a George W. Bush appointee, denied the request, finding that the state lacked standing to sue.
Mosman said the state did not provide sufficient evidence of harm being done to protesters, citing that Rosenblum only offered two examples of probable cases where civil rights violations occurred.
"While the complaint paints a picture of numerous protesters being seized from the streets of Portland by unidentified agents, the State's evidence in its brief and at the hearing consists of just two examples," Mosman wrote in the 14-page ruling.
His decision comes one day after another federal judge issued a restraining order against federal police in Portland, ordering them not to arrest journalists and legal observers there to witness the protests.
The state argued that the arrests made by unidentified federal agents in unmarked vans could give anti-protesters the opportunity to kidnap protesters.
Mosman scoffed at that claim, saying that the state offered no evidence of that happening.
“I do not discount the animosity among these groups and had I been asked to assume that something would result in fistfights, or theft, or destruction of signs, or damage to vehicles, that would have made sense,” he wrote. “But the idea that seizures by law enforcement will lead to kidnappings by private parties is a bridge too far.”
Rosenblum said Friday she was disappointed with the decision.
"While I respect Judge Mosman, I would ask this question: If the state of Oregon does not have standing to prevent this unconstitutional conduct by unidentified federal agents running roughshod over her citizens, who does?" she said in a statement.
"Individuals mistreated by these federal agents can sue for damages, but they can’t get a judge to restrain this unlawful conduct more generally. Today’s ruling suggests that there may be no recourse on behalf of our state, and if so that is extremely troubling."
President Donald Trump dispatched agents to Portland earlier this month, vowing to crack down on protesters he called "agitators." Trump announced he would send more federal police to Democratic-led cities, as part of a new reelection strategy meant to emphasize "law and order."
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