An official investigation was opened Thursday, July 23, by the US Department of Justice into the very controversial action of federal police in Portland (northwest), where clashes between the police almost every night. anti-racist protesters.
The mayor of Portland himself, Ted Wheeler, was sprayed with tear gas on Wednesday evening as he met thousands of people protesting in particular against institutional racism and police violence.
“I haven’t seen anything that justifies” this use of tear gas, he said, speaking of a “Disproportionate reaction” federal agents, whose deployment was ordered in certain cities of the country by President Donald Trump to, according to the latter, restore ” Law and order “.
Much more serious according to many American citizens or elected officials, many videos published on social networks for a week show these federal agents in uniform, clad in military equipment, appearing from unmarked vehicles to question demonstrators.
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Mobilization for more than 50 days
The movement began more than fifty days ago, as elsewhere in the country, after the death of black forty-something George Floyd in late May under the knee of a white policeman. The mobilization in Portland, traditionally very anti-establishment, has only grown since the arrival of federal forces in the city.
Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who oversees all internal investigations at the Department of Justice, said in a statement Thursday that he had officially launched investigations into the events in Portland.
Also at the request of Congress parliamentarians, a separate investigation was also opened into the intervention of the police on 1er June in Washington to disperse a demonstration held on the outskirts of the White House, an operation for which President Trump had already received a shower of criticism.
These investigations go “To examine the role and responsibilities of the Department of Justice and its law enforcement officers in responding to protests and public unrest in Washington DC and Portland, Oregon over the past two months”, specifies Michael Horowitz.
Several legal proceedings
The inspection will in particular review “Training and instructions” given to the police under the Ministry of Justice, their compliance with the rules governing their identification and intervention, as well as instructions concerning “The use of ammunition” riot control, tear gas and general strength.
The investigators will coordinate with their counterparts from the Ministry of Homeland Security, whose services have also announced the opening of an internal investigation, said Horowitz.
Several lawsuits have been launched by plaintiffs contesting the mobilization of federal forces in Portland, accused by some of behaving like paramilitary commandos by making summary arrests.
According to documents submitted to an Oregon court by the person responsible for this “Rapid deployment force”, these men in camouflage fatigues intervening in Portland would come from three contingents of the Department of Homeland Security: the Federal Protection Service, the Immigration Police (ICE) and the Customs and Border Protection Agency ( CBP).
Contrary to freedom of expression
Members of the Marshals Service, which reports to the Department of Justice and is responsible for protecting federal judges and courts, supplement their staff, which totals 114.
Parliamentarians welcomed the opening of investigations, demanding to shed light on the use of federal forces for, according to them, “Repress, gas and beat peaceful protesters and American citizens exercising their rights” freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution.
“Congress will continue to defeat this thoughtless government, but it is of the utmost importance that these independent general inspections get to the bottom of President Trump’s use of force against his own citizens.”, write three Democratic officials in a statement.
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