The US government will pay Antifa and BLM protesters over injuries sustained during the 2020 riots, after reaching a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the protesters, alleged that federal agents sent to Portland, Oregon by the Trump administration in the summer of 2020 “[beat], shot and abducted” the plaintiffs, in violation of their constitutional right to protest peacefully.
The plaintiffs included military veterans, BLM activists and at least one college professor.
The ACLU referred to tear gas and pepper spray used by the federal agents as “chemical weapons” that are “banned in international warfare because of their severe and indiscriminate impact on human life and health.”
The settlement includes compensation for injuries sustained. The specific amounts have not been disclosed.
“We are proud to have represented our courageous clients,” said ACLU Legal Director Kelly Simon in a news release.
“They suffered serious injuries because of federal law enforcement’s unlawful, aggressive actions, and it is just and fair that they are being compensated.”
President Trump sent federal agents, including border patrol officers, to Portland, Oregon as unrest intensified in the wake of the death of George Floyd. The deployment was codenamed “Diligent Valor.”
That summer’s protests were the most expensive in American history, at a cost of at least $2 billion to the insurance industry.