9th Circuit Court of Appeals allows feds to use crowd-control munitions on Portland anti-ICE protesters

The 2-1 panel decision, issued on Wednesday, intervenes in two separate federal cases, with two Trump-appointed judges, Kenneth Lee and Eric Tung, granting the Trump administration administrative stays. Judge Ana De Alba dissented.

An administrative stay is intended to "minimize harm while an appellate court deliberates" and lasts "no longer than necessary to make an intelligent decision on the motion for stay pending appeal," as stated in the order.

The decision comes just days before the nationwide "No Kings" protests, a coordinated left-wing event that led to the siege of the ICE facility twice last year: in June and again in October. Riots were declared at both of those events.

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On March 9, US District Court Judge Michael Simon issued a preliminary injunction barring federal law enforcement officers from deploying less-lethal rounds on protesters, unless there is an "imminent threat" to officer safety. This includes chemical or projectile munitions, such as tear gas, pepper balls, flash-bang grenades, rubber bullets, pepper or oleoresin capsicum spray, and other less-lethal weapons. The ruling followed a three-day evidentiary hearing, in which Judge Simon sided with a group of Antifa-affiliated protesters in Dickinson v Trump.

The plaintiffs, led by Jack Dickinson, also known as the "Portland Chicken," claimed that federal officers were violating their First Amendment rights through the "unlawful" use of crowd control measures, which were meant to have a "chilling" effect on demonstrators to discourage them from returning to the ICE facility to protest, thus violating their rights through "retaliatory animus."

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Since June 2025, the Portland ICE facility has been the site of clashes between federal officers and anti-ICE agitators, many of whom have a nexus to the Antifa terrorist organization. The facility has been the target of violent breaches and arson attacks, resulting in hundreds of arrests. More than 30 protesters have received serious federal charges, and some of them are facing decades in prison. Many have already been convicted.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) argued that crowd control measures are an appropriate response to violent crowds and that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has the authority to defend federal property and enforce federal law. Attorney John Bailey said that such actions are necessary at the Portland ICE facility, as the building on Macadam Avenue has been frequently under siege by demonstrators, referring to some of them as "rioters and terrorists." Bailey contended that federal officers are facing threats at any given moment, thus crowd control measures are necessary.

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Judge Simon, who is married to anti-ICE Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, decided that federal agents were committing retaliatory animus and turned his February temporary restraining order (TRO) into a preliminary injunction. He referred to the Trump administration as an "authoritarian regime" in his order.

The appeals court's decision also applies to a preliminary injunction issued by Judge Amy Baggio on behalf of REACH, a nonprofit organization that owns Grays Landing, an apartment building across the street from the ICE facility. REACH sued the federal government on behalf of residents, asking the Court to prohibit federal officers from using tear gas.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has grouped the two cases together. Oral arguments will be heard on April 7.