Portion of Eugene Federal Building to be fenced off, police chief says

New fencing will be installed at the Eugene Federal Building following days of protests last month that included damage to the building, Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner said Thursday, Feb. 12. 

“We are facilitating the arrival of some fencing that will go up there,” Skinner told members of the Police Commission, a citizens’ advisory group. 

Skinner did not provide specifics about the timing of the installation or the exact location of the fence, but said its purpose will be “helping to better articulate kind of the spaces where the protesting can or should occur.”

Crossing the barrier should let protesters “know that you’re likely going to be met with a with a fairly resistive outcome,” Skinner said.

Skinner said he expects the city to be issuing permits to “close streets down for a variety of different things to help facilitate that, and so we’ll likely be doing that in the coming week or weeks.”

Skinner referred to the courtyard area of the downtown federal building, which currently has no fence.

“It really is in that courtyard area of that federal building, it really is kind of a moving target, so to speak,” Skinner told the police commission. “And so what this will do is we’ll clearly outline where people can be to peacefully protest and, likely, 99% of the people that are going to be down there will understand where they can be.”

The Eugene Federal Building houses offices for multiple federal agencies, including a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.

But Skinner told commissioners Thursday that officers with a different federal agency, the Federal Protective Service, or FPS, make up “the lion’s share of the staff that’s down there.”

“Their whole mission is just to protect federal property,” Skinner said, adding that the FPS officers do have federal authority to arrest people.

“They don’t engage in enforcement action outside of claims that are involved in protection of property,” Skinner said.

A lawsuit currently pending in U.S. District Court in Eugene, filed on behalf of two protesters, seeks to prohibit enforcement of a rule prohibiting “loud or unusual noise.” Court documents filed in the case by the Eugene-based Civil Liberties Defense Center have referred to “city-owned sidewalks,” in contrast to federal property.

In that lawsuit, attorneys with the federal Department of Justice have described pre-existing rules and laws — including the Homeland Security Act of 2002 — that shifted law enforcement authority for federal properties from the federal General Services Administration to the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS.

The Federal Protective Service, as well as ICE, is part of DHS.

“The [Homeland Security Act of 2002] requires the [DHS] Secretary to ‘protect the buildings, grounds, and property that are owned, occupied, or secured by the Federal Government … and the persons on the property,’” attorneys for the federal government have stated.

Jan. 30 riot declaration

Eugene police declared a riot during a protest Jan. 30 after receiving a report from federal authorities of a breach of the building.

Melinda McLaughlin, a Eugene police spokesperson, in an email last week, said a call from federal authorities at 4:54 p.m. referred to “a person-sized breach” of a window facing High Street. Some windows on the other side of the building were also damaged.

Eugene police officers formed a line between protesters and windows, near the building’s courtyard entrance. In a statement later that night, Skinner said Eugene officers were in place to de-escalate tensions. When federal officers arrived from Portland, Eugene police left the property, Skinner said, and federal officers then repeatedly used tear gas to disperse crowds.

Since last summer, the building has been a frequent place to protest immigration enforcement activities that sharply increased under President Donald Trump. It saw nearly daily gatherings after two separate fatal shootings of U.S. citizens last month by federal agents conducting immigration enforcement activity in Minneapolis.

At Monday’s meeting, Police Commission Chair Emeilia Foulkes asked Skinner about the definition of a riot and what led to the declaration Jan. 30.

“I think the biggest indicator for me, around moving a protest, even a loud and very assertive protest, to that riotous status would be when we start to see the infusion of criminal behavior,” Skinner said.

Some members of the Police Commission on Thursday praised the department’s response.

“The actions of the Eugene Police Department were the most exemplary, professional and oriented towards safety for everyone involved that I have ever seen or heard about anywhere,” said Jack Radey, a member of the commission.

Skinner said the Eugene police officers, assisted by Springfield police, deserve praise for keeping calm that night.

Skinner said it’s one thing for him to show restraint while make decisions from afar, but “being on the line, knowing that you’re there to try and make sure that you avoid a violent confrontation between our public and federal officials, and to have stuff thrown at you and be told to resign your position, and all of the things that they hear, is another thing.”