By Tom Ozimek
Contributing Writer
The Justice Department has launched a federal civil rights investigation into the Portland Police Department, examining whether the department engaged in viewpoint-based discrimination after the arrest of conservative journalist Nick Sortor.
Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, announced on Friday that she had sent a formal letter to Portland police about the investigation.
“We write regarding Portland Police Bureau’s response to incidents surrounding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland and, specifically, the city of Portland’s use of its policing powers in a manner that may be based on viewpoint discrimination,” Dhillon wrote in the letter, addressed to City Attorney Robert Taylor and Police Chief Bob Day.
The letter cites three specific issues: Portland police arrested Sortor but not others allegedly involved in the same altercation; officers failed to identify or arrest individuals accused of assaulting journalist Katie Daviscourt; and the city of Portland may have used zoning enforcement powers to limit ICE’s operations at its Portland facility.
Dhillon’s letter requests unredacted body camera footage, incident reports, and communications from the city by Friday, noting that the allegations could implicate Portland’s ongoing federal consent decree governing police reforms.
The Arrest and Fallout
Sortor was taken into custody on Thursday along with two others — Angela Davis and Son Mi Yi — outside Portland’s ICE facility. Police said the three were arrested on disorderly conduct charges after what they described as a fight between two men at around 8 p.m. that led to one participant being knocked to the ground, followed by “additional fights” later in the evening.
Footage of the incident posted online shows Sortor documenting the protest when a man confronted him, blocked his way, and shouted threats at him. A brief scuffle followed, during which Sortor appeared to be shoved to the ground.
After his release, Sortor accused Portland police of political bias. “You thought arresting me would make me shut up and go away,” he wrote on X. “You couldn’t have been more wrong.”
At a Friday press conference, Portland’s police chief rejected allegations of political bias and said the department would cooperate fully with federal officials.
“There is no political bias associated with our enforcement,” Day said. “The irony here is we were condemned in 2020 for our approach towards the left, and now we’re being condemned in 2025 for our approach to the right. So, I would say we’ve landed right in the middle of the fairway. … This is the application, the appropriate application of the rule of law — that it is equitable across the board.”
Day said he welcomes Justice Department scrutiny, expressing openness to releasing body-worn camera footage from the ICE protest arrests and citing the PPB’s commitment to transparency and public trust.
In a statement, the city of Portland said it had received notification of the investigation from the Justice Department. “We are still reviewing this inquiry and do not have a comment at this time on specific requests lodged by the federal government,” city officials said in the statement. “What we can say is this: Mayor Wilson has full faith in the Portland Police Bureau’s commitment to protecting public safety, upholding the rights of all individuals to lawfully assemble, and impartially enforcing the law.”
Federal Response and Rising Tensions
The Portland ICE facility has been the scene of recurring protests and clashes. The Department of Homeland Security said groups linked to Antifa — recently designated by President Donald Trump as a domestic terrorist organization — have sought to dox federal officers stationed at the facility.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a Friday press briefing that federal aid to the Democrat-led city could be suspended, citing a policy that restricts funding if local authorities refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memorandum to the leadership of the Oregon National Guard on Sept. 28, requesting that 200 service members be temporarily moved to federal service to assist in maintaining order around federal facilities in Portland.
The state of Oregon responded by filing a lawsuit seeking to block the deployment, arguing that the move exceeds presidential authority and infringes on state control of the Guard.
Trump has said the White House is acting fully within its legal authority in response to months of violent unrest near the city’s immigration facilities.
