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Protester in chicken costume repeatedly hit with munitions outside Portland ICE building, joins class action

Mar 9, 2026·Location: Portland, OR

Protester in chicken costume repeatedly hit with munitions outside Portland ICE building, joins class action
Photo via ACLU of Oregon

Jack Dickinson, known around Portland as "the Portland Chicken," has protested outside the city's ICE building in a yellow chicken costume with an American flag over his shoulders, attending about 150 days since April 2025. In his account to the court, on August 16, 2025, a pepper ball struck his respirator and singed the legs of his costume; on August 23, he was shoved by federal agents and shot from the roof of the building. He says that on November 14, 2025, agents targeted him with chemical munitions while he stood wrapped in the flag, posing no threat. On November 21, 2025, he became the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit, Dickinson v. Trump, filed by the ACLU of Oregon alleging First Amendment retaliation. A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order on February 3, 2026, and a preliminary injunction on March 9, 2026; a federal appeals court paused it on April 27, 2026, while the appeal continues.

Timeline

Apr 27, 2026—Federal appeals court paused the injunction while the government's appeal continues
Mar 9, 2026—Judge granted a preliminary injunction and provisional class certification
Feb 3, 2026—Federal judge granted a temporary restraining order limiting crowd-control munitions against nonviolent protesters and journalists
Nov 21, 2025—Became lead plaintiff in the ACLU of Oregon class action Dickinson v. Trump
Nov 14, 2025—Targeted with chemical munitions while standing wrapped in an American flag, posing no threat
Aug 23, 2025—Shoved by federal agents and shot from the roof of the ICE building
Aug 16, 2025—Struck in the respirator by a pepper ball outside the Portland ICE building; the legs of his chicken costume were singed
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