Federal Officers Appear to Use Rental Cars From Enterprise

[struggle4progress]

Tess Riski | Published 2:49 PM Updated 3:50 PM

Camouflage-clad federal officers, who were caught on video this week plucking protesters off the Portland streets and into unmarked vans, rented at least one of the vans from Enterprise Holdings rental car service ...

At least one of the vehicles that officers drove with protesters inside is a 2019 Dodge Caravan registered to EAN Holdings LLC, a company based in St. Louis. The website of Enterprise Holdings says EAN Holdings is an operating subsidiary of the agency. Enterprise Holdings owns Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent a Car and National Car Rental.

Portland criminal defense lawyer John Schlosser says using unmarked rental cars to arrest protesters may fall outside the normal boundaries of law enforcement in which officers acting on probable cause make arrests in marked, publicly owned vehicles. He also said it raised questions whether the people in the unmarked vehicles are, in fact, federal agents.

"Feds don't drive rental cars," Schlosser said. "Feds drive vehicles with federal license plates" ...

https://www.wweek.com/news/2020/07/17/federal-officers-appear-to-be-using-rental-cars-from-enterprise-to-snatch-portland-protesters/

[struggle4progress]

1. Border Patrol Responsible for Portland Arrest

By Ken Klippenstein
TODAY 5:46 PM

For days, federal agents in unmarked cars have reportedly been snatching Portland protesters off the streets. On Thursday, video emerged of federal agents clad in camouflage fatigues and unspecified “police” patches apprehending one such demonstrator and placing him in an unmarked vehicle. Social media lit up with speculation about the intentions — and the identity — of these agents. A memo consisting of internal talking points for the federal agency responsible for the arrest, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and obtained exclusively by The Nation provides .. even more questions.

Dated July 1st, the memo is titled “Public Affairs Guidance: CBP Support to Protect Federal Facilities and Property” and marked “For Official Use Only.” It describes a special task force created by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in response to President Trump’s “Executive Order on Protecting American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues and Combating Recent Criminal Violence. That task force, the Protecting American Communities Task Force (PACT), has been tasked not only to assess civil unrest, but also to “surge” resources to protect against it.

The Portland arrest of Mark Pettibone, first reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting, followed several similar arrests involving officers from BORTAC (Border Patrol Tactical Unit)—CBP’s equivalent of a SWAT team—as well as the U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group. A CBP spokesman confirmed to The Nation that CBP agents were responsible for the arrest, pointing to authorities under the Protecting American Communities Task Force ...

The talking points memo identifies a series of potential questions, including many of those being asked in response to the Portland arrests. In several cases, it instructs CBP officials not to answer them, citing “operational security.” For example, in response to questions about where CBP personnel are being deployed, the memo says “it would not be appropriate to disclose law enforcement operational specifics which could jeopardize operational security.” As for questions about when CBP personnel will be deployed and for how long, the memo states, “We do not give out operational specifics, however we hope this support will be short-term, just for the July 4th weekend.” The CBP spokesman, however, did not give any indication the operation would be coming to an end. “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its components will continue to work tirelessly to reestablish law and order,” he said ...

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/border-patrol-portland-arrest/

[LiberalFighter]

5. There needs to be a house cleaning with CBP

[RockRaven]

2. Time to get a boycott of Enterprise going... And maybe some lawsuits too.

[blitzen]

3. In the Age of Trump, Feds do rent cars...from Trump! n/t

[dalton99a]

4. Kick

[bluestarone]

6. CUT ALL FUNDING

IMMEDIATELY!

[struggle4progress]

7. Oregon governor wants federal officers out

Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman
July 17, 2020 at 5:14 p.m. EDT
Add to list

... this week, federal officers came to Portland and began arresting people.

... Local officials don’t want them to do this ... It’s apparently making the situation worse.

... Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon told us that her contacts with Trump administration officials about the situation had convinced her that “they are not interested in problem solving,” and this has “nothing to do with public safety” ...

“I said, ‘We do not want you here, you are exacerbating the situation,’ ” Brown continued, adding that the mayor of Portland had the same conversation with Wolf. “It provokes confrontation to have federal troops on the streets. This is purely for political purposes" ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/17/oregon-governor-wants-federal-officers-out-portland-trump-officials-wont-listen-why/

[octoberlib]

8. The US Government probably has an account with Enterprise for travel.

I doubt Enterprise knew in advance what their cars were being used for but they should be called out on it.

[struggle4progress]

9. ACLU Can Add Federal Agencies To Lawsuit

by Rebecca Ellis
July 17, 2020 11:30 a.m.

U.S. District Judge Michael Simon has agreed to allow attorneys for the Oregon ACLU to add the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service as defendants in its lawsuit alleging police are targeting journalists and legal observers covering ongoing protests in Portland.

The decision opens the door for the ACLU to file a temporary restraining order against federal law enforcement, and to seek similar restrictions to those Simon has already placed on Portland police.

Those restrictions include barring the police from arresting, threatening to arrest or using physical force against journalists or legal observers unless they “reasonably know” that person has committed a crime. On Thursday, Simon extended those temporary protections through the end of October ...

https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-aclu-federal-law-enforcement-portland-police-lawsuit/

[struggle4progress]

10. US Attorney For Oregon Calls For Investigation

by Ryan Haas OPB
July 17, 2020 12:56 p.m. | Updated: July 17, 2020 4 p.m.

UPDATE (4:00 p.m. PT) — U.S. Attorney Billy Williams said Friday he wants an investigation into actions of federal officers who have pulled Portland protesters off the street and into unmarked vehicles ...

“Based on news accounts circulating that allege federal law enforcement detained two protesters without probable cause, I have requested the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General to open a separate investigation directed specifically at the actions of DHS personnel,” Williams said in his statement.

At least one officer with the Marshals Service is under investigation for severely injuring a Portland protester July 11 by shooting him in the face with an impact munition round ...

“It’s a fundamental constitutional value that people in this country are free to walk the streets without fear of secret arrest,” <Lisa Hay, Oregon’s federal public defender> said. “That circumstance raises concerns that the arrests occurred without probable cause” ...

https://www.opb.org/news/article/us-attorney-oregon-investigation-portland-protester-arrests/

[struggle4progress]

11. What are Federal Law Enforcement Officers Doing in Portland?

By Steve Vladeck
Friday, July 17, 2020, 4:17 PM

... The protests have largely been peaceful, but there have been several well-documented episodes of violence, vandalism and property damage. In the last few days, however, the protests have been met with what appears to be a significant federal law enforcement response—the contours of (and legal authorities for) which are, at best, unclear. By all appearances, there are now at least 100 federal law enforcement officers on the ground in Portland. But media reports suggest that at least many of those officers are (1) not wearing identifiable uniforms or other insignia; (2) not driving marked law enforcement vehicles; and (3) not identifying themselves either publicly or even to those whom they have detained and arrested. Making matters worse, local authorities—from the mayor to the sheriff to the governor—have repeatedly insisted not only that they don’t want federal assistance, but that the federal response is aggravating the situation on the ground. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, in contrast, has repeatedly taken to Twitter to claim that local authorities are refusing to restore order—albeit with only vague references to which federal laws are not being enforced (and repeated allusions to “graffiti” and other property damage by “violent anarchists”) ...

There’s definitely reason to be alarmed about what’s going on in Portland. And even if the federal officers are technically complying with the relevant statutes, there’s something more than just unseemly about camouflaged officers who refuse to identify themselves or their employer purporting to conduct arrests on the streets of American cities. Whether these officers are in fact abusing their authorities or not remains to be seen, but either answer would be deeply troubling.

https://www.lawfareblog.com/what-heck-are-federal-law-enforcement-officers-doing-portland

[struggle4progress]

12. Oregon officials decry extrajudicial arrests

By Associated Press Today Updated 10:21 am

... “Usually when we see people in unmarked cars forcibly grab someone off the street we call it kidnapping,” said Jann Carson, interim executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon.”The actions of the militarized federal officers are flat-out unconstitutional and will not go unanswered” ...

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/07/17/breaking-news/oregon-officials-decry-extrajudicial-arrests-by-federal-agents-in-portland/

[Takket]

13. so what can be done to stop this?

the victims can sue but drumpf will drag that out in the courts for a year or more. this activity is illegal. how can it be stopped?

[struggle4progress]

14. Wheeler wants federal troops out of Portland

Author: KGW Staff
Published: 12:56 PM PDT July 17, 2020
Updated: 4:27 PM PDT July 17, 2020

... During the Friday press conference, Wheeler said ... in the days prior to the federal government getting involved, police were de-escalating the situation, starting with the removal of the Justice Center fence. He said people were engaging in productive conversations with police.

"The energy in the crowd was decreasing people. People were moving on, then feds came in on inflammatory messaging from President Trump, as well as DHS," he said. "They blew the whole thing back up again, the numbers escalate, new people are coming in from out of state anecdotally, Texas, Arizona lots of people from Washington. This whole situation is blowing up. I believe we can handle it better."

Chief Lovell agreed, saying, "Their actions have ratcheted up tension on our streets and it has caused more people to come downtown to demonstrate."

"We say to the Trump administration, 'Take your troops out of Portland and let us handle it.' We can handle better than they can what's going on in our streets" ...

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/portland-mayor-police-chief-to-hold-news-conference/283-e659a13e-72fd-46db-8c3c-39d7007d592e

[struggle4progress]

15. Federal Agents Citing Executive Order Protecting Statues

... These officers have reportedly refused to say what agency they work for. But their supposed authority to police Oregon’s largest city and make arrests appears to rest on a June 26 executive order by President Donald Trump calling for the protection of statues, monuments, and federal property ...

The Associated Press reported last week that members of “an elite Border Patrol tactical team” based on the US-Mexico border have been in Portland since early this month and are mixed in with Federal Protective Service officers outside the courthouse ...

“Platoons self-designated and self-mobilized by Donald Trump to be flown thousands of miles into US cities to attack Americans fits the definition of abuse of power in any democracy,” Wyden said. “The legal justification is absurd—Trump’s occupation has nothing to do with statues. If that executive order is their basis of their authority, they are massively exceeding it and those involved should find their federal employment terminated before this is all resolved” ...

Portland Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis has said his department did not request federal assistance and is not coordinating with the federal officers ...

“The apparent lack of operational coordination between agencies, departments, and offices, and the violence perpetrated by federal personnel is particularly concerning,” wrote Wyden, Sen. Jeff Merkley, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici .. in a July 14 letter to Attorney General William Barr and Wolf. “Their presence and lack of coordination raises urgent concerns about how those engaging in illegal use of force against demonstrators will be held accountable” ...

https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2020/07/federal-agents-portland-border-patrol-chad-wolf-statues/