More stories of Portlanders kidnapped off the streets by the Feds
https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/08/05/28708420/more-portlanders-share-experiences-of-being-snatched-and-detained-by-federal-police
by Alex Zielinski and Blair Stenvick
When Tetra thinks back to the night he was kidnapped by federal police in downtown Portland, he can't help but laugh.
It was such a mess, said Tetra, 24, who asked the Mercury to use only his first name out of privacy concerns. These officers had no idea what they were doing, which was both comforting and terrifying."
Tetra is one of the unknown number of protesters who has been chased down on the streets of Portland by federal police, forced into an unmarked van, and held for hours without being charged with a crime.
This practice was first made public in July, when protester Mark Pettibone detailed his experience with what felt like a kidnapping in an interview with OPB, drawing immediate national attention. Pettibones story inspired Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to file a lawsuit against the federal law enforcement agencies involved, suggesting that this disturbing tactic had likely been used to detain other Portlanders.
Tetras experience confirms that assumption. His story and others from people arrested by federal police during recent demonstrations further illuminates the unorganized, heavy-handed, and potentially unconstitutional tactics employed by officers sent to Portland to defend federal buildings.
July 14 wasnt Tetras first time attending the protests that have become a nightly fixture in Portland since the death of George Floyd in late May. Hed attended numerous demonstrations over the past month, many of which ended with police using violence to disperse the crowd of protesters. But that Tuesday night was the first time he heard a rumor from others in attendance that demonstrators were being picked up by people in unmarked vans.
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