Oregon
Judge in Oregon limits federal officers’ tear gas use at Portland ICE building protests
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge in Oregon on Monday restricted federal officers from using tear gas at protests at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, in response to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Oregon on behalf of protesters and freelance journalists.
U.S. District Judge Michael Simon issued the preliminary injunction after a three-day hearing in which the plaintiffs — including a demonstrator known for wearing a chicken costume, a married couple in their 80s and two freelance journalists — testified about having chemical or projectile munitions used against them.
The lawsuit, whose defendants include the Department of Homeland Security, argues that federal officers’ use of such munitions is a retaliation against protesters that chills their First Amendment rights.
“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,” Simon wrote, using the term OC Spray to refer to pepper spray.
“Defendants’ conduct — physically harming protestors and journalists without prior dispersal warnings — is objectively chilling.”
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In previous statements, it said federal officers followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary.
Simon had previously issued a temporary restraining order similarly limiting federal agents from using chemical munitions during protests at the ICE building. His preliminary injunction is the second in recent days restricting agents’ tear gas use at the facility, following that of a federal judge overseeing a separate case brought by the residents of an adjacent affordable housing complex.
Federal officers’ aggressive crowd-control tactics are causing concern as demonstrators in cities across the country have protested the immigration enforcement surge spearheaded by President Donald Trump’s administration.
In his Monday order, Simon limited federal agents from using chemical or projectile munitions such as pepper balls and tear gas unless someone poses an imminent threat of physical harm. He also ordered agents not to fire munitions at the head, neck or torso “unless the officer is legally justified in using deadly force against that person.”
Additionally, officers cannot use pepper spray against a group in an indiscriminate way that would affect bystanders; they must only target people who are engaging in violent unlawful conduct or actively resisting arrest, or use it “as reasonably necessary in a defensive capacity,” Simon wrote. He specified that trespassing, refusing to move and refusing to obey an order to disperse are acts of passive, not active, resistance.
Simon also granted provisional class certification, which means his order covers a broader group of all those who have peacefully protested or reported on demonstrations at the ICE building in recent months.
The preliminary injunction will remain in effect while the lawsuit proceeds.
Federal agents are responding after explosives were found in a vehicle that crashed into the front entrance of an Oregon athletic club Saturday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said. A person was found dead inside the vehicle.
Portland Fire and Rescue responded to a report of a vehicle driving into the club’s front entrance at 2:49 a.m. local time, according to a news release from the department.
The vehicle caught fire after the crash, the department said. Once the blaze was brought under control, law enforcement found the deceased person inside. The Portland Police Department’s Explosive Disposal Unit responded after evidence of an explosive device was found in the vehicle.
The person has not been identified, and an investigation is ongoing, police said.
The club said in a statement that the facility will remain closed until further notice and that they are expecting a prolonged closure.
“Our team is cooperating fully with the Portland Police Bureau and Portland Fire & Rescue, who are leading the investigation. Out of respect for that process, we will defer to them for additional details,” the statement said.
This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An Oregon woman will spend the rest of her life behind bars for the murder of her ex.
A Coos County jury convicted 46-year-old Reina Jackson of second-degree murder this week following a three-week trial for the death of her former husband in 2021.
“Dr. Craig Jackson served his country, built a career dedicated to caring for people, and was building a new life for himself and his daughter,” said Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield.
“What happened to him was brutal and calculated. His family deserved justice, and the sentence reflects the gravity of what was done.”
Dr. Craig Jackson, Reina’s ex-husband and a physician at Bay Clinic in Coos Bay, was shot and killed in his home in North Bend on Aug. 2, 2021. The couple recently had a contentious divorce and Dr. Jackson was granted full custody of their daughter.
Evidence submitted by the state at trial suggested that Reina conspired with two others to carry out the attack. According to a memo from prosecutors, Reina broke into her ex’s home with two others in the middle of the night and fought with him in his bedroom. She shot him in his rectum and then through his head.
His new wife, who had been lying in bed with him when Reina and the others entered, said she quickly rolled off the bed and hid underneath it. When she believed it was safe, she came and found her husband shot and lying in the hallway.
Police later found a hand-drawn map of Dr. Jackson’s home in Reina’s vehicle and DNA evidence of two unknown men who are believed to have accompanied her. She was also on probation for previously breaking into his home and assaulting him.
Just before Reina was arrested, she withdrew her daughter from school and fled to Guatemala. She was later arrested in Atlanta after returning to the U.S. on June 10, 2023.
According to court documents obtained by KOIN 6 News, Dr. Jackson’s family believes Reina forged a check in his name for $40,000 and used the money to purchase land for herself in Guatemala. The check posted a few days after his death.
Reina was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for at least 25 years.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Average gas prices have gone up nearly 20 cents a gallon in Oregon and Washington in the past week as tensions in the Middle East continue.
Washington state has the third most expensive gas in the country at an average of $5.57 a gallon for regular, followed by Oregon at fourth in the U.S. with roughly $5.15 per gallon for regular.
The average price for regular in the U.S. is $4.30 a gallon. AAA says the price of oil has surged to more than $100 a barrel, with no indication of when the Strait of Hormuz will be back open.
National Gas Price Comparison for 2023-26 as of April 30, 2026 – Graphic courtesy AAA
A poll found that half of all Americans expect gas prices to rise even higher in the next year.
That same poll from ABC and Ipsos said some Americans are changing their behaviors because of the higher gas prices.
About 4 in 10 people are driving less (44%) or have cut back on other household expenses (42%) to compensate.
More than a third have changed their travel or vacation plans, the poll said, and about 15% of people said they’ve considered buying an electric vehicle.
Pump prices are now the highest they’ve been during this time of year since 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed crude oil prices above $100 per barrel.
The poll found that about a quarter (23%) of all Americans are falling behind financially, which is up from 17%in February, before gas prices started to spike.
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About half of those who took the poll said they have just enough to maintain their standard of living, while 24% said they are getting ahead – down from 28% in February.
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