Dan Rayfield’s office submitted evidence and testimony in support of a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security for federal agents’ excessive force and First Amendment violations. by Courtney Vaughn Last week, plainti ffs in a class-action lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) got a win after a judge issued a temporary restraining order against federal agents.  That lawsuit, filed by the ACLU of Oregon on behalf of protesters and journalists, alleges federal agents have violated their First Amendment rights and used excessive force at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland. Now, plaintiffs are getting another boost, this time from Oregon’s top prosecutor. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced Monday that his office filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief supporting the ongoing lawsuit, with added evidence and arguments against DHS.  Rayfield says the evidence submitted by his office shows federal agents repeatedly deployed tear gas on the weekend of January 31. Most notably, agents used tear gas on a “densely packed crowd” of peaceful anti-ICE protesters during a January 31 rally and march led by local labor unions. The massive crowd marched from Elizabeth Caruthers Park near the ICE building, and the march was still underway with people spilling in from adjacent blocks when they were trapped in a plume of tear gas that lingered past the ICE facility. The crowd included children, elderly people, and pets. Agents again used tear gas on protesters the following evening. Last week, US District Judge Michael Simon ordered a temporary pause on the use of tear gas or other crowd control munitions on non-violent protesters and journalists unless the target of the munitions is specific, and poses “an imminent threat of physical harm to a law enforcement officer or other person.” The TRO is set to expire Tuesday, February 17. Rayfield’s office requested a preliminary injunction against DHS, which would force the agency to follow similar rules around munitions until a final determination is made at trial. The ACLU of Oregon lawsuit was filed in November 2025 on behalf of Jack Dickinson (AKA “the Portland chicken”), Laurie and Richard Eckman, Mason Lake, and Hugo Rios. According to the lawsuit, Laurie Eckman, 84, was shot in the head with a crowd control munition, without warning, while she was peacefully protesting at the ICE facility. Her husband endured tear gas and had a munition fired at his walker. Agents have reportedly assaulted Dickinson “repeatedly by aiming directly at him, shoving him, bombarding him and others with chemical munitions….” Independent journalists Lake and Rios have been shot with pepper balls, tear gassed, and had lights pointed directly at them to interfere with their ability to record police. At one point, an agent sprayed Lake with bear mace while he was trying to record, according to the complaint. The lawsuit alleges each of the plaintiffs has been subjected to extreme force by federal agents while trying to protest injustice. It also says that under DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and President Donald Trump, federal agents “have repeatedly met these demonstrations with excessive shows of force.” For months, federal agents at the ICE facility have been documented deploying tear gas, pepper balls and other dangerous crowd control weapons, while also physically assaulting protesters. The behavior has led Portland leaders, including the mayor, city councilors, and the city attorney, to lambast the US Department of Justice, ICE, and the Trump administration. Last fall, Rayfield’s office, along with attorneys for the city of Portland, went head-to-head with the DOJ in court, after Trump ordered National Guard troops to deploy to Portland to help guard the ICE facility amid ongoing, albeit mostly tame anti-ICE protests. The Trump administration lost that legal battle, and troops were mobilized but ultimately never deployed.  Rayfield isn’t done fighting the Trump administration’s authoritarian regime. Last spring, he launched a federal overreach reporting portal for Oregonians to submit tips and evidence if they’ve been negatively impacted by the administration’s policies. “President Trump and his administration have sent the message to ICE officers that they’re above the law. And now we’re seeing the results of that reckless behavior play out in our communities,” Rayfield stated in an announcement of the legal filings Monday.  “Oregonians from all walks of life—parents, children, teachers, healthcare providers, members of the legal profession, and countless others—have been subject to tear gas, pepper balls, and flash-bangs without regard for the bedrock constitutional principles that constrain all law enforcement,” the attorney general stated in his brief filed with the court. “Simply put, in a betrayal of the public’s trust, federal agents have punished Oregonians for exercising their rights of assembly and expression.” Rayfield’s office says participants in the January 31 labor rally reported feeling “confusion and panic as gas spread through the area.” Others reported difficulty breathing or seeing through the thick cloud of gas.  “This is an incredibly important decision,” Kelly Simon, legal director of the ACLU of Oregon, told the Mercury after the TRO was granted. “Our ability to exercise our rights nationwide is more important than ever, especially as this nation, as Judge Simon says, ‘faces a crossroads.’ People need to be able to organize …and speak out in ways that seek to build power.” ...read more read less