US court lifts ban on using force against journalists in Portland

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily lifted a lower court's preliminary injunction on federal law enforcement officers' use of force, threats, and dispersal orders against journalists and legal observers working at Portland protests, Report says, citing Associated Press.

The injunction was put in place by US District Court Judge Michael H. Simon while the federal government appeals to the restriction.

The appeals court said Simon's injunction was "without adequate legal basis." It concluded that the government showed the order "will cause irreparable harm to law enforcement efforts and personnel."

The ruling for now basically puts journalists and legal observers on the same level as demonstrators during orders to disperse and use force.

The matter was heard by 9th Circuit Judges Eric Miller, Daniel Bress, and M. Margaret McKeown. Miller and Bress, both appointed to the bench by President Donald Trump, lifted the injunction.

McKeown, appointed to the appeals court by President Bill Clinton, dissented, saying the government "failed to meet its burden to demonstrate either an emergency or irreparable harm" to support lifting the injunction.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon issued a statement saying it disagrees with the 9th Circuit decision, describing it as not the final word.

"The freedom of the press protects democracy from devolving into tyranny," the ACLU said.

"Under the First Amendment, press and legal observers must be allowed to document what's happening at protests without being assaulted, shot, detained, or arrested. The government cannot be held to account if there is no one left to document its actions."