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Elderly woman shot in head, veteran assaulted at Portland ICE facility protests; ACLU sues DHS

Jan 31, 2026 · Portland, OR

Elderly woman shot in head, veteran assaulted at Portland ICE facility protests; ACLU sues DHS

On August 13, 2025, DHS agents deployed tear gas and fired less-lethal bullets from the roof of an ICE facility at 4310 S Macadam Ave in Portland, targeting civilians peacefully demonstrating on the public sidewalk. A U.S. military veteran was violently attacked from behind, assaulted, and pinned to the ground while being exposed to tear gas for approximately two minutes by three DHS agents. On January 31, 2026, federal agents deployed tear gas on a densely packed crowd of peaceful anti-ICE protesters during a labor union-led rally and march near the ICE facility. The crowd included children, elderly people, and pets who marched from Elizabeth Caruthers Park before being trapped in lingering tear gas plumes. Agents used tear gas again on February 3. The ACLU of Oregon filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of five plaintiffs: Jack Dickinson (known as "the Portland chicken"), Laurie Eckman (84), Richard Eckman, Mason Lake, and Hugo Rios. Laurie Eckman was shot in the head with a crowd control munition without warning; her husband was tear-gassed and had a munition fired at his walker. Dickinson was repeatedly assaulted and bombarded with chemical munitions. Independent journalists Lake and Rios were shot with pepper balls, tear-gassed, had lights pointed at them to interfere with recording, and Lake was sprayed with bear mace. U.S. District Judge Michael Simon issued a temporary restraining order on February 3 pausing tear gas or crowd control munitions use on non-violent protesters and journalists unless targeting a specific imminent threat. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed an amicus brief supporting the lawsuit.

Timeline

Feb 3, 2026Federal agents used tear gas again on protesters; ACLU of Oregon filed class-action lawsuit on behalf of five plaintiffs; U.S. District Judge Michael Simon issued temporary restraining order pausing tear gas and crowd control munitions use on non-violent protesters and journalists
Feb 3, 2026Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed amicus brief supporting ACLU lawsuit with additional evidence of federal agents' misconduct
Jan 31, 2026Federal agents deployed tear gas on densely packed crowd of peaceful anti-ICE protesters during labor union-led rally and march near ICE facility; crowd included children, elderly people, and pets marching from Elizabeth Caruthers Park
Aug 13, 2025DHS agents deployed tear gas and fired less-lethal bullets from ICE facility roof at peaceful protesters on public sidewalk; military veteran violently attacked and exposed to tear gas for approximately two minutes

Sources

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