Federal immigration officers may use non-lethal munitions, like tear gas, in response to “imminent lawlessness,” the Ninth Circuit emphasized in a split ruling Monday, calling a lower court’s order blocking federal officers from using force against Oregon protesters “grossly overbroad and unworkable.”
The opinion, written by Judge Kenneth Lee and joined by Judge Eric C. Tung, stayed a preliminary injunction issued by the US District Court for the District of Oregon that prohibited federal agents from using excessive force against any individual without justification. Lee and Tung are both appointees of President Donald Trump.
Lee said that any injunction ...