A federal judge denied Friday a request from the Oregon attorney general to stop federal agents from arresting rioters, ruling that the state lacked standing to sue on behalf of the protest crowds laying siege to federal buildings in Portland.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael W. Mosman, appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush, said that Oregon had relied on a “purely hypothetical” argument about the risk of “kidnappings” by federal authorities or counter-protesters.
The judge said that Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum would have needed to demonstrate “a very particularized showing in order to have standing” for “an injunction against future conduct.”
“Because it has failed to do so—most fundamentally, because it has not shown it is vindicating an interest that is specific to the state itself — I find the State of Oregon lacks standing here and therefore deny its request for a temporary restraining order,” Judge Mosman said in the 14-page decision.
Democrats led by Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler have blasted the Department of Homeland Security for bringing in federal law-enforcement officers to protect the federal buildings in Portland from attacks, while DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf has said Portland officials have done nothing to block the fire-setting, window-breaking vandals.
In a statement, the Democrat Rosenblum said she was “disappointed” in the ruling.
“The stakes in this case are high, and I am disappointed that Judge Mosman did not rule in favor of a TRO and found instead that we lacked standing to bring the case in the first place,” said Ms. Rosenblum. “I believe all Oregonians have a right to know which federal law enforcement agencies are policing our streets, and why they are detaining peaceful protesters.”
The AG’s statement on today’s decision by Judge Mosman denying her request for a temporary restraining order (TRO).
A TRO would have immediately stopped federal authorities from unlawfully detaining Oregonians from the streets of downtown Portland. ⬇️https://t.co/659oMnG98V pic.twitter.com/c9QnYlFHoB
— Ellen Rosenblum (@ORDOJ) July 24, 2020
