US judge blocks use of tear gas against anti-ICE protesters in Portland

A judge in Oregon issued an order on Tuesday temporarily blocking federal agents from using tear gas and other munitions on protesters outside a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Portland.

The move came days after the city's mayor said federal officers used chemical agents during a largely peaceful protest in the city.

In a ruling on Tuesday, US District Judge Michael H. Simon ordered federal officers not to use "chemical or projectile munitions," such as tear gas and pepper balls, on protesters around an ICE office in south Portland for at least 14 days.

Simon also barred agents from firing munitions or using weapons that target the "head, neck, or torso of any person, unless the officer is legally justified in using deadly force against that person."

Simon granted the temporary restraining order after several plaintiffs filed legal action alleging federal agents had used excessive force against them, including an 84-year-old woman who the court documents said had been shot "in the head with a chemical impact munition while she was peacefully holding a sign on a public street."

The woman walked home "soaked in blood," according to the court documents.

"The Court finds that the repeated shooting and teargassing of nonviolent protesters at the Portland ICE Building will likely keep recurring" against people participating in demonstrations, Simon wrote.

The ICE building has become a focal point in recent weeks for Portland protesters demonstrating against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

The killings of two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal agents in Minneapolis have become a rallying cry for protests against Trump's mass deportation raids led by masked and heavily-armed officers.

Portland's Mayor Keith Wilson said last week that federal officers "deployed heavy waves of chemical munitions" against a "peaceful daytime protest".

Wilson suggested children were present at the time and said "the vast majority of those present violated no laws, made no threat, and posed no danger to federal forces."

"Our nation will never accept a federal presence where agents wield deadly force against the very people they are sworn to serve," Wilson said in a statement Saturday.