First Unitarian Files for Temporary Restraining Order on Federal Law Enforcement
(You can see this feature in this weeks Speaking of Justice: Weekly Update 7/30.)
As you know, First Unitarian Portland is a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed last week to require that the recently-deployed federal law enforcement agents cease their operations and militarized tactics in Portland streets. What we have witnessed over the last week is an escalated, extremely violent attack on the people of Portland. As of this writing, though the Governor announced an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to withdraw these law enforcement agencies, DHS Director Chad Wolf maintains that the agents will stay in Portland until the “violent activity toward our federal facilities ends.” We are continuing with the lawsuit and today, July 29, we have filed for a temporary restraining order.
Many of us from First Unitarian have been involved since the murder of George Floyd in the Black Lives Matter protests to address police brutality, defund and redistribute our tax money from violent and unnecessary policing to peaceful public safety response and community care. We have given accounts of the extreme and indiscriminate use of tear gas and munitions by Portland Police Bureau. These actions by PPB necessitated the letter to the Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler that we sent on July 9th signed by over 300 First Unitarian congregants. We have yet to hear back from the mayor regarding our specific requests to stop using tear gas and extreme violence on our community members.
The basis of the federal lawsuit that we joined with Western States Center argues that the presence of federal agents on our streets is a violation of the Tenth Amendment guaranteeing the separation of powers. Further, the extreme tactics by federal agents has had a chilling effect on our congregation’s faithful call to protest. Ramped up violence, abductions of citizens, and unpredictable location of their activities has created an environment that is much more dangerous. We cannot in good conscience encourage people to show up to protest the federal agents. Those of us who do continue to be a presence have taken extreme precautions, including wearing gas masks/respirators, shatter-proof goggles and helmets, and otherwise carefully watching out for each other. It is unconscionable that one should have to wear protective equipment in order to exercise our First Amendment Rights.
On Wednesday this week, we joined the plaintiffs to file for a Temporary Restraining Order. Our hope is that, if granted, the injunction will severely limit the scope of federal law enforcement operations in Portland, thereby setting precedent for the rest of the country.
The federal overreach is frightening and infuriating and we must work to stop it. We must also be clear that the federal law enforcement agencies on Portland streets are the same agencies that have been abducting and terrorizing our immigrant families and communities even before this latest invasion. Our tax dollars are being spent on munitions, chemical agents and military style law enforcement here in our communities and across the country. Those same tax dollars should be going toward care of our communities, especially in the midst of a global pandemic, not in ongoing terror of our communities.
Our ongoing work to transform local policing continues. We demand an end to police violence and the targeting of our Black siblings in Portland and across our nation.
There is much work to be done, and the uprising of activities in all arenas — direct action, demonstrations, mutual aid, legal recourse, legislative action and voter mobilization — is necessary! Thank you to this church community for continuing to keep the focus on moving us toward a city and a world where liberty and justice prevail.
You can read more about what the UUA Love Resists campaign shared about the lawsuit that First Unitarian Portland joined here: We Must Resist Fascist Federal Attacks on Our Cities