PORTLAND, Ore. – Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, along with several district attorneys, has taken a strong stance against what they describe as reckless and unlawful tactics used by federal agents in the state. In a formal letter addressed to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Rayfield and his colleagues have called for an immediate halt to these actions.
Rayfield was joined by Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez, Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton, and Clackamas County District Attorney John Wentworth in sending the letter. The document outlines a pattern of excessive force by federal personnel, including instances where munitions fired by DHS officers struck both Portland Police Bureau and Oregon State Police officers. Additionally, tear-gas deployments have been noted as endangering residents and other law enforcement officers.
The letter highlights that similar issues have occurred outside of Portland, where federal agents have escalated routine encounters into volatile situations, putting residents, officers, and bystanders at risk. Rayfield emphasized the importance of following the law and the Constitution, stating:
“It doesn’t matter who you are, you have to follow the law and our Constitution. We are asking the federal government to take reasonable steps towards prevention and de-escalation. We are putting them on notice that we are watching and will hold them accountable if they do not follow the law.”
In October, an unmarked van carrying federal agents stopped a group of teenagers at gunpoint at a Dutch Bros drive-thru in Hillsboro. This incident led to multiple 911 calls from concerned community members. Then, in November, federal agents arrested a 17-year-old high school student and U.S. citizen in McMinnville by stopping his car and breaking through his window while he was on his lunch break from school.
During the Dutch Bros incident on Oct. 3, employees called 911 as armed masked men jumped out of an unmarked van and surrounded a car full of teens placing their order. One employee described the situation as follows:
“They are holding guns on both sides at them. It looked like military? We don’t know what’s happening.”
The workers said the event happened without warning and they didn’t see any lights or sirens, so they were unsure if the men were law enforcement. Another employee added:
“They came out of nowhere and just started swarming. The customers at the windows didn’t have guns; it was just the people who pulled up shouting, get out of the car, get out of the car.”
When Hillsboro police responded, the ICE agents had already left the area. The three teens in the car told police they were pulled over earlier in the day by ICE agents and were not sure why they were targeted again.
The letter serves as a formal notice that the Oregon Department of Justice and the three District Attorney’s Offices are actively monitoring federal conduct and will investigate any case where a federal officer appears to be acting outside the reasonable scope of their duties. Rayfield and the district attorneys issued five specific demands, including halting unlawful actions, improving training, coordinating with local law-enforcement agencies at the Portland ICE facility, investigating excessive-force complaints, and cooperating fully with state investigations.
“Law enforcement, federal or local, has a responsibility to accomplish their mission while ensuring everyone’s safety,” Vasquez said. “Gratuitous force has no place at any level of law enforcement.”
Evidence cited in the letter includes sworn testimony from State of Oregon v. Donald Trump, where senior officials from DHS and the Portland Police Bureau acknowledged that federal officers repeatedly used disproportionate and unjustified force against nonviolent protesters and, at times, against other law-enforcement personnel.
“These are not normal circumstances,” the letter states. “The volume and severity of force used by DHS officers in Oregon over the last six months has eroded trust, jeopardized public safety, and undermined the cooperative relationships that effective law enforcement depends on.”
A spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the Dutch Bros incident was ICE activity and no arrests were made, but would not give any other details.
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