PORTLAND, Ore. – Federal agents arrested an Occupy ICE PDX protester late Sunday night. Video shows agents crossing into the protest camp to detain a woman who hit the caution tape that separates the protest from federal property.
There have now been five incidents where Department of Homeland Security police officers arrested protesters who are demonstrating against federal immigration policy at the U.S. Immigration and Holding Facility in Southwest Portland. The protest began on June 19 and has continued uninterrupted for nearly a month.
Like many of the other incidents that resulted in arrest, federal officials and Occupy ICE PDX protesters offer conflicting views of what happened. Portland police are not responding to the incidents, following orders of Mayor Ted Wheeler to not use city resources on the protest.
"I want to be very clear that I do not want the Portland Police to be engaged or sucked into a conflict, particularly from a federal agency that I believe is on the wrong track," Wheeler said in June.
According to DHS spokesman Robert Sperling, one person was arrested around midnight Sunday for assaulting an officer and failing to comply with orders. He said the protester was given several warnings to stand back from the caution tape.
"This they failed to and continued antagonizing the officers. After the final warning is when they engaged, they attempted to flee, and when apprehended they kicked the arresting officer," he said.
According to Occupy ICE PDX, an ICE protester touched the yellow caution tape that separates the protesters on public property from the ICE facility, which is on federally leased land.
Video shared by Occupy ICE PDX shows a woman flicking the yellow caution tape. Eight DHS agents then enter the protest camp and grab several protesters. The video shows agents pull the woman’s hands behind her back and drag her onto the federal property. The video shows several agents surrounding her on the ground as other agents face the protesters, some with weapons drawn.
(Warning: Graphic language in video) Tap to view video
Sperling said the video does not show the warnings federal officers gave before the arrest.
"I am positive they gave several warnings before the camera turned on," he said "The camera just caught the last action as they flicked the tape and gave our officers the middle finger."