Copyright The Oregonian
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday granted greater authority to the Federal Protective Service, whose mission is to protect federal buildings and property, to make arrests off of federal property and target people who commit crimes while wearing masks. The new regulation was expected to go into effect in January, but the Homeland Security department and Federal Protective Services pushed the date up, saying it’s needed to address what they called a “recent surge in security and public safety threats.” Federal Protective Service officers have made arrests outside Portland’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building amid nightly protests alongside federal officers from immigration enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Bureau of Prisons. The new regulation gives the Federal Protective Service the authority to arrest people who are off of federal property for the use of unauthorized drones, alleged disorderly conduct, the wearing of a mask or hood that conceal’s one’s identity in the course of committing a crime, obstructing access to federal property, impeding federal officers, tampering with government technology such as electronic card readers, or creating any threat or hazard to federal property or staff. Those alleged crimes would be class C misdemeanors, punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. “DHS is using every tool possible to protect the lives of our law enforcement as they face a surge in violence and lawlessness at many of our federal facilities. We’ve seen rampant violence against law enforcement including our officers shot at, rammed by vehicles, assaulted and threatened,” Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we will not tolerate violence perpetuated by Antifa and other domestic extremists who are targeting federal property and law enforcement.” In Portland, 38 people have been arrested and charged with either a federal felony or misdemeanor stemming from protests outside the ICE facility since June. In 23 of those arrests, people have been accused of assaulting a federal officer. Other charges have included destruction of government property, aiming a laser at a government helicopter, failure to obey a lawful order and arson. The majority of the arrests were made in June; none so far in November. Spencer Reynolds, senior counsel on liberty and national security for the Brennan Center for Justice, said in a report last month that the expanded scope of the Federal Protective Service has “not been matched by the development of rules to ensure the agency’s operations are legitimate and transparent,” and argued that Homeland Security has exploited the agency for “political ends.” He cited the agency’s role in the 2020 federal crackdown on racial justice demonstrations outside the downtown federal courthouse in Portland, and wrote that the Homeland Security’s Inspector General has previously documented the lack of safeguards to prevent abuses by the Federal Protective Services. Reynolds said in a social media post Wednesday that the regulation relies on “unproven, hyperbolic statements” that threats to federal officers have increased. “To anyone paying attention, the risks to First Amendment rights are significant - especially in light of the White House’s directives that paint political dissent as ‘Antifa terrorism,’” he wrote on Bluesky. Last month, Robert Cantu, deputy director of the Federal Protective Service Region 10 that covers Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska, had to correct errors he made in a sworn declaration to a federal judge in Portland on the extent of federal officers’ “surge” to protect Portland’s ICE building. He initially wrote that the region had to assign 115 Federal Protective Service officers from other areas around the country to Portland to “maintain a 24/7 operational tempo,” at the building since June. His subsequent brief clarified that 115 was the “number of deployments,” not individual officers sent, and there’s actually been a total of 86 Federal Protective Service officers sent to the building from other regions, and no more than 31 officers at the building at any one night from July 15 through Aug. 12. Cantu testified last week on behalf of the federal government defending President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to protect Portland’s ICE building in the South Waterfront neighborhood. He testified that he was disappointed by a lack of assistance from Portland police and estimated that police did not respond 40 times since June to requests by Federal Protective Service officers who reached out for help at the ICE building. Portland police supervisors countered that they have witnessed federal officers at the building using inappropriate and disparate force against passive demonstrators, in violation of state and federal constitutional law.
