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Appeals court pauses orders limiting federal agents’ use of tear gas at protests near Portland ICE building

Published

2 months ago

March 27, 2026

An appeals court paused a pair of lower court rulings in Oregon that restricted federal agents’ use of tear gas and other crowd-control munitions during protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted the Trump administration’s request for temporary administrative stays in two cases in a 2-1 ruling.

Anti-ICE demonstrators have held protests at the building since June, as part of protests across the country challenging President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

Two lawsuits were filed over federal agents’ crowd control tactics — one brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon on behalf of protesters and freelance journalists and another brought by the residents of an affordable housing complex across the street from the ICE building.

OREGON JUDGE LIMITS FEDERAL AGENTS’ TEAR GAS USE AT PORTLAND PROTESTS

The complaints argue that federal agents’ use of chemical and projectile munitions has violated the rights of plaintiffs — including a demonstrator known for wearing a chicken costume, a married couple in their 80s and two freelance journalists who said federal agents used chemical spray and projectile munitions against them.

The Department of Homeland Security has previously said that the agents have “followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property.”

Earlier this month, the federal judges in Portland overseeing the separate cases both issued preliminary injunctions limiting federal agents’ use of tear gas, pepper spray and other chemical munitions unless someone poses an imminent threat of physical harm.

The agents were also ordered not to fire munitions at the head, neck or torso “unless the officer is legally justified in using deadly force against that person” and were told not to use pepper spray against a group in an indiscriminate way that would affect bystanders. Additionally, they were told to only target people who were engaging in violent unlawful conduct or actively resisting arrest, noting that trespassing, refusing to move and refusing to obey an order to disperse are acts of passive resistance, not active resistance.

“Plaintiffs provided numerous videos, which were received in evidence and unambiguously show DHS officers spraying OC Spray directly into the faces of peaceful and nonviolent protesters engaged in, at most, passive resistance and discharging tear gas and firing pepper-ball munitions into crowds of peaceful and nonviolent protestors,” U.S. District Judge Michael Simon wrote in his ruling on March 9 in the case brought by the ACLU.

“Defendants’ conduct — physically harming protestors and journalists without prior dispersal warnings — is objectively chilling,” he added.

JUDGE RULES FEDERAL AGENTS MUST LIMIT TEAR GAS AT PROTESTS NEAR PORTLAND ICE BUILDING

The Ninth Circuit panel said on Wednesday that oral arguments in the two cases will be consolidated and scheduled for April 7.

Earlier this year, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson called on ICE to leave the city after federal agents deployed tear gas at a crowd of demonstrators outside the agency’s building. The mayor described the protests as peaceful and criticized federal officers’ use of pepper balls, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets.

“Federal forces deployed heavy waves of chemical munitions, impacting a peaceful daytime protest where the vast majority of those present violated no laws, made no threat, and posed no danger to federal forces,” he said in a statement at the time.

“To those who continue to work for ICE: Resign. To those who control this facility: Leave,” he added, accusing federal officials of “trampling the Constitution.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Reunification Of Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless Sees 24% Ratings Increase For ‘First Take’

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32 minutes ago

May 14, 2026

Addison Blake

Bring back Skip full-time

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Tech entrepreneur flees Washington due to companies being ‘villainized’

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2 hours ago

May 14, 2026

Addison Blake

A prominent Washington tech entrepreneur is joining the growing exodus of business leaders fleeing the Evergreen State, citing a “dramatic” shift in the state’s tax climate following the passage of a controversial new “millionaire tax.”

Jesse Proudman, the founder and CTO of the privacy-focused generative AI platform Venice.ai, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the state he once called a “startup sanctuary” has become increasingly hostile to the very people who fuel its economy.

“I started three companies here in the state. I have been an entrepreneur my whole life here,” Proudman said. “The business climate when I started my first company was very entrepreneurial-friendly, and the startup community was looked upon as a contributing member of the city. Over the last number of years, that has changed dramatically.”

Proudman, who previously founded the private cloud company Blue Box and the crypto-investing platform Makara, is now serving as a spokesperson for Let’s Go Washington. The political committee is currently spearheading a massive signature-gathering effort to repeal the tax measure before it can take root.

STARBUCKS CUTS JOBS IN SEATTLE AS FORMER CEO HOWARD SCHULTZ BLASTS ‘SOCIALIST’ MAYOR

The tax, pushed through by the Democratic-controlled legislature during the 2026 session and signed into law by Gov. Bob Ferguson in March, imposes a 9.9% levy on annual income exceeding $1 million. While it is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2028—with the first payments due in 2029—the mere threat of its implementation is already shifting the state’s demographics.

“We have until July 2nd to gather about 325,000 signatures to put this on the November ballot,” said Hallie Herzberg, Director of Communications for Let’s Go Washington. “The people deserve the right to vote on this. It’s already driving businesses, employers, and families out of the state.”

The move marks a seismic shift for Washington, which has historically been one of only a handful of states with no personal income tax. However, the legal ground shifted in 2023 when the state’s Supreme Court upheld a 7% capital gains tax, effectively opening the door for broader income-based levies that critics argue violate the state constitution’s requirement that property (which includes income) be taxed at a uniform rate.

GOV ABBOTT EXTENDS OFF-RAMP FOR NY BILLIONAIRES FLEEING MAMDANI’S POLICIES

State Sen. Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle), the Senate Majority Leader and the bill’s primary sponsor, has dismissed concerns of “tax flight.”

“The reality is the millionaire tax is not likely to result in businesses leaving,” Pedersen told a local FOX affiliate following the bill’s signing. He later told Fox News Digital that there is “no evidence” that high earners will migrate to lower-tax jurisdictions like Florida or Texas.

Data from the Association of Washington Business (AWB) suggests otherwise. A recent survey reported by The Center Square found that 44% of business leaders in the state are considering moving their personal residences elsewhere. Furthermore, Washington businesses reported they are now more than twice as likely to expand outside the state than within it.

For Proudman, the decision has already been made. He plans to relocate his life and business interests to Austin, Texas.

“It’s no longer a friendly place to conduct business,” Proudman said. “Startup companies are being villainized. With the passing of this tax, we have looked at alternative places to move, and we’ll probably end up in Austin.”

SIX DIFFERENT WAYS THAT PROVE THE WEALTHY PAY A LOT MORE THAN THEIR ‘FAIR SHARE’

Proudman warned that while the tax is currently branded as a “millionaire’s tax” to gain public favor, the long-term economic consequences will eventually hit middle-class residents as the tax base shrinks.

“They are targeting a very highly mobile cohort of the population,” Proudman argued. “When those folks leave, this will become a tax on everybody. The voters are unwittingly creating an incredibly worse tax situation for themselves. Washington is already the 45th worst state from a tax point of view. This is a constitutionally illegal tax that ultimately will apply to everyone.”

Sen. Pedersen’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s latest request for comment.