article: This lawsuit, filed on July 21, 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, was brought by the Western State Center (a public benefit corporation), the First Unitarian Church of Portland, a private individual, and two Oregon State Representatives. Represented by private attorneys, they sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Protective Service, and the U.S. Marshal Service over the defendants' presence and role in quelling protests that ensued after the police killing of George Floyd in May of 2020. The complaint alleged violation of the First and Tenth Amendments. The First Amendment claim was brought by First Unitarian Church and argued that the defendants' arrests of protesters were in violation of the First Amendment right to protest, but also in violation of the Free Exercise clause, as protest was an integral part of the church's philosophy. The Tenth Amendment claim, brought by all plaintiffs, claimed that the federal agencies' enforcement of law on Portland property (and not just federal property) amounted to an unconstitutional violation of the principles of federalism. Plaintiffs requested declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and attorney's fees and costs. The case was assigned to Judge Michael W. Mosman and Magistrate Judge Jolie A. Russo. However, on July 27, the plaintiffs submitted an amended complaint. The amended complaint retained the arguments about free speech, free exercise, and principles of federalism, but added other claims regarding the Fourth Amendment. Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that the federal agents were arresting Portland residents without probable cause, adding that some of these arrests were caught on video. Protesters were taken off the street by non-uniformed federal officers and hauled into unmarked vans. Two days later the plaintiffs submitted a motion for a temporary restraining order with an expedited hearing and a motion for a preliminary injunction. However, on August 4 the court granted an email request to withdraw the motion for a temporary restraining order as moot. This is probably because the court had already granted a TRO against against federal agents in Portland in <a href="https://www.clearinghouse.net/detail.php?id=17707&search=source%7Cgeneral%3BcaseName%7CIndex%20Newspapers%3Borderby%7CfilingYear%3B><i>Index Newspapers</i></a> earlier in the week. The plaintiffs continued to seek a preliminary injunction. On October 22 and 30, the court held oral argument on the motion for a preliminary injunction. Judge Mosman granted the preliminary injunction with respect to the First Amendment claims, but denied the preliminary injunction with respect to the Tenth Amendment claim. 2020 WL 6555054. While Judge Mosman found no showing that the federal agents acted with retaliatory motive, he found that the President and Acting Secretary Chad Wolf expressed such a motivation and the plaintiffs were entitled to some form of injunctive relief. Under the preliminary injunction, Judge Mosman limited the defendants from engaging in crowd control beyond an extended city block around the U.S. Courthouse. The defendants promptly appealed to the Ninth Circuit (docket no. 20-35959) and requested a stay pending appeal. The Ninth Circuit denied the defendants' emergency motion for a stay pending appeal without prejudice to renewal after the district court ruled on the motion to stay pending appeal. Then on November 9, 2020, the court held a status conference and vacated the order for the preliminary injunction as no longer necessary. The defendants subsequently dismissed the appeal. On December 4, 2020, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. They argued that the plaintiffs did not have standing because the plaintiffs did not attend the protest and the feared injuries were not injuries in fact or traceable to federal agents' conduct. In addition, they argued that the First Amendment allegations were actually weaker than what was considered in the preliminary injunction motion. The defendants also requested a stay of discovery. The parties then consented to proceed before Magistrate Judge Jolie A. Russo. Magistrate Judge Russo extended the discovery deadline to November 30, 2021. As of December 30, 2020, the motions to dismiss and stay discovery remained pending. This case is ongoing.
summary: This case was filed on July 21, 2020. Plaintiffs included Western States Center (a public benefit corporation), the First Unitarian Church of Portland, and three individuals (including two state representatives). They sued the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Protective Service, and the U.S. Marshals for their presence and role in quelling protests that ensued after the police killing of George Floyd. The complaint alleged violations of the First and Tenth Amendment, and plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief. The plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. The court granted the preliminary injunction with respect to the First Amendment claims, but denied the preliminary injunction with respect to the Tenth Amendment claim on October 30, 2020. A week later though, the court vacated the preliminary injunction as no longer necessary. On December 4, 2020, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. They also requested a stay of discovery. As of December 30, 2020, the motions to dismiss and stay discovery remained pending. This case is ongoing.