The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced a federal civil rights investigation into 2017's arrest of Portlander Michael Fesser, which has been widely condemned as baseless, retaliatory, and racist.

As first reported by the Oregonian's Maxine Bernstein, the Oregon US Attorney's office told the district attorneys of both Clackamas and Multnomah counties this afternoon that the DOJ would be investigating the incident.

In a joint letter announcing the investigation, the DAs write that US Attorney Bill Williams, "will investigate any possible federal crimes that might have been committed in this matter."

Williams' office confirmed the investigation in an email to the Mercury.

"The US Attorney’s office is engaged in an active investigation to evaluate criminal wrongdoing in the West Linn Police Department matter," wrote Kevin Sonoff, a spokesperson for the US Attorney's office.

Here's a reminder of what the 2017 case entailed, from the Mercury's earlier reporting:

In 2017, West Linn police officers surveilled, arrested, and detained Fesser in retaliation for Fesser raising concerns about racial discrimination at work to his boss, Eric Benson. In court documents, this arrest is described as a favor to Benson by his close friend, then-West Linn Police Chief Terry Timeus. Benson made the unfounded claim that Fesser had been stealing from his workplace, a Southeast Portland towing company. A West Linn officer who used to work for the PPB's gang enforcement team convinced his former coworkers at the Portland Police Bureau to arrest Fesser, since he lived and worked in Portland. Despite having no evidence of the alleged theft, the Multnomah County District Attorney's office indicted Fesser on five theft charges. Fesser then sued the City of West Linn for discrimination, eventually winning $600,000 in a settlement agreement. All officers involved (aside from Timeus, who has since retired) are still employed as public law enforcement officials.

Last week, following the Oregonian story detailing Fesser's case, Oregon elected officials at nearly every level of government called for a federal investigation into Fesser's arrest. Around the same time, Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote and Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced their own investigations to how Fesser's case was handled by the justice system. PPB said it would also conduct an internal investigation into its officer's role in the case.