Portland’s protest antics have made national headlines in the past week. The chicken suit; the giant inflatable frog; and the growing flurry of other inflatable animal costumes have put a spotlight on the benign nature of most anti-ICE protesters. Yet federal agents are responding with increased force.

Federal police unleashed a volley of weapons and chemical agents on anti-ICE protesters and journalists on Saturday, October 11. It was a notable escalation in the response to protests at the Portland immigration processing facility that led to violent arrests, a photojournalist getting shot with a pepper ball, and a large group being sprayed indiscriminately with tear gas. 

The night began with protesters dancing, laughing, and enjoying an assortment of new inflatable costumes—including Pikachu, Spongebob, a “MAGA manchild,” and of course, the Portland frog brigade.

The jovial irony of bucking Trump’s “war ravaged” and “Antifa terror cell” proclamations was interrupted by a violent arrest at 7:30 pm, when five federal agents carried a protester into the building by their limbs, while another agent followed behind filming the action. 

It wasn’t long before the crowd went right back to dancing, but it wouldn’t last, as federal police appeared determined to brutalize protesters throughout the evening. 

Shortly before 9 pm, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents were seen shoving a protester to the ground while trying to clear the driveway so vehicles could exit the facility. Another was shoved immediately afterward, and shot with pepper balls. 

Adding fuel to an already volatile scene, right-wing agitators were again at the facility in large numbers. One was arrested by the Portland Police Bureau on a fourth-degree assault charge. A bystander said the man punched a person in the head. 

Saturday’s protests came as the state is embroiled in a legal fight with the Trump administration over Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Oregon. Troops from California were sent to Oregon earlier this month, but are prohibited from being formally deployed for now, due to a temporary restraining order. 

An appeals court is considering the issue, weighing whether Trump has Constitutional authority to deploy a militia in an American city to stop the threat of a “rebellion” against the government. A decision has yet to be issued. 

Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth argue federal troops are needed to help secure the ICE facility amid growing protests. Oregon leaders say local police are well-equipped to handle the situation, which has been manageable, despite recent arrests. 

First Major Arrests

Federal police were quick to respond to minor instances of trespass (crossing a blue painted line on the edge of the property) with heavy force. Just before 10 pm, federal agents threw teargas at protesters. The threat that seemingly triggered arrests and teargas: people sitting on a concrete retaining wall in front of the ICE building, refusing to leave. 

About five minutes later, agents threw a gas canister down from the roof, which detonated above the heads of protesters and press. A protest medic tried to spray water on a spent canister—possibly to defuse or cool it off—and was shot with a pepper ball. “Fuck you, dude!” the medic yelled toward police. “You wanna start a fucking fire?”

More arrests were made, without clear provocation or reasoning. One protester was swung around into the concrete retaining wall. Another was pried off of a lamp post and dragged into the facility. 

Teargas filled the air as federal police pushed protesters down Bancroft street, which runs parallel to the ICE property. When a protester kicked one of the teargas grenades back toward officers’ feet, another agent shot a flashbang round into the air.

As federal agents began to back up, a protester holding a cross in the air near the officers was shot in the head with a pepper ball from a roof. The cross-bearing protester stepped forward, onto the marked property line that agents consider grounds for trespass, and was promptly grabbed and dragged into the facility.

Amid the flurry of less-lethal weapons, a local photojournalist was shot in the arm with a pepper ball. Agents also shot a pepper ball near a protester’s face, hitting his phone while he filmed from the sidewalk.

The crowd control munitions didn’t stop.

The increased and excessive use of force by federal agents has been documented by media, local police, and city officials. Last week, in a memo to the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, Portland’s city attorney noted multiple instances of unnecessary or excessive force used on protesters by DHS officers at the ICE facility. 

Later that week, following a visit from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and her staff, federal officials wrote to Portland Mayor Keith Wilson with concern over the city’s sanctuary status and its response to protests. In a written response, Wilson affirmed the city’s commitment to its sanctuary status, and urged officials to improve federal standards of policing.

“We continue to ask that your federal law enforcement officers raise their operational and legal standards in terms of use of force and munitions, officer identification, and body-worn cameras,” Wilson wrote. “The actions of certain officers continue to be deeply disturbing to our community, and the lack of accountability and transparency for what appears to be unconstitutional behavior against individuals expressing their rights will only serve to deepen the divide between this facility and our community.”

Wilson noted federal officials asked the city to restrict access around the ICE facility and set up designated “free speech zones” in an effort to put tighter controls on protests. Wilson didn’t oblige.

“The city of Portland commits to peacefully facilitating free speech throughout the City of Portland,” the mayor’s letter states, noting the Portland Police Bureau has added additional officers to police protests, but will prioritize “life-safety emergencies” over unruly protesters.

DHS did not provide a response to questions about the rationale for the escalating use of munitions.

Feds Lose Control

At 11:13 pm Saturday, while clearing the driveway for more cars to exit, federal agents exhibited yet another massive escalation of force. 

Massive escalation at the Portland ICE facility. Worst I’ve ever seen. More pepper balls than I can count. Teargas in the middle of crowd. Violent arrests. Some type of either noise or rubber bullet shotgun fired into the air then later aimed at protesters chests/heads at near point blank range.

— Kevin Foster (@kevinhfoster.bsky.social) October 11, 2025 at 10:24 PM

Officers fired additional gas and grabbed another protester, who was shoved to the ground, dogpiled, then dragged closer to the facility where they were laid face down. They cried out, yelling that they couldn’t breathe and that they were being crushed. 

Multiple agents restrained the protester, barking orders to stop moving and “get your arm behind your back.” The protester yelled out that their arm was trapped underneath their body, and they couldn’t move with the agents holding them down.

As protesters were pushed further down Bancroft Street, more crowd control munitions were used, including 40mm rubber rounds, according to bystanders. A journalist in a yellow press vest was on their knees filming with their back turned to the agents when they were shoved off the sidewalk by federal police, into the dirt. 

What’s happening in Portland isn’t an anomaly. Violent tactics from federal police have been recorded around the country, as immigration enforcement grows hostile and federal police have been encouraged by the president to use “full force” on demonstrators. The Trump administration currently faces multiple lawsuits over DHS officers’ use of force on peaceful protesters.