周四，一个三人陪审团暂时停止了对报道俄勒冈州波特兰骚乱的记者和法律观察员的保护。
上周，联邦法官迈克尔·西蒙裁定，如果联邦官员“合理地知道”一个人是记者或法律观察员，则记者和法律观察员可以免于人身暴力、逮捕或其他待遇。
但是在一个2比1的判决中，第九巡回上诉法院的法官同意政府的意见，认为西蒙法官的最初判决过于宽泛。
三名法官中的两名写道:“鉴于该命令的广度和缺乏明确性，特别是其非排他性标记谁有资格成为“记者”和“法律观察员”，上诉人还表明，在没有中止的情况下，该命令将对执法工作和人员造成不可挽回的损害。”“这意味着，记者可能会受到与参与采访的个人同样的身体压力。”
律师威廉巴尔在一份声明中说，他认为这一决定是“重要的一步。”
美国广播公司新闻
2020年5月18日，美国司法部长威廉·巴尔(William Barr)表示，他并不指望自己亲自挑选的检察官会在华盛顿特区调查前总统巴拉克·奥巴马或前副总统乔·拜登，该检察官负责审查2016年美国联邦调查局对特朗普竞选活动的调查。
巴尔说:“昨晚，美国第九巡回上诉法院发布命令，暂时阻止波特兰联邦地区法院发布禁令。该禁令对联邦执法人员施加了广泛但定义模糊的限制，他们努力保护波特兰联邦法院及周边地区免遭破坏。”
“实际上，地区法院的命令阻止了联邦政府通过必要的一般人群控制措施有效地对付暴力暴徒，并且不可接受地增加了联邦执法人员受到严重伤害的风险。第九巡回法庭的决定是重要的一步，它将使联邦官员能够继续履行其重要的安全职责，而不受难以维持的条件的限制。”
今年夏天的大部分时间里，美国国土安全部和美国法警的联邦特工被部署到波特兰联邦法院周围地区，以应对乔治·弗洛伊德(George Floyd)遇害后的骚乱。
美国国土安全部因在那里部署联邦特工而受到严格审查，记者们也广泛记录了他们的角色。
Appeals court temporarily halts protections for journalists, legal observers in Portland
A three-judge panel on Thursday temporarily halted protections for journalists and legal observers covering the unrest In Portland, Oregon.
Last week, federal Judge Michael Simon ruled that journalists and legal observers were exempt from federal officers' physical force, arrest or other treatment if the officers "reasonably know" that a person is a journalist or legal observer.
But in a 2-1 decision, the judges on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, agreed with the government that Judge Simon’s initial ruling was too broad.
“Given the order’s breadth and lack of clarity, particularly in its non-exclusive indicia of who qualifies as “Journalists” and “Legal Observers,” appellants have also demonstrated that, in the absence of a stay, the order will cause irreparable harm to law enforcement efforts and personnel," two of the three judges wrote. "This means that journalists could be subjected to the same physical force as that of the individuals participating."
Attorney William Barr said in a statement that he thought the decision was "an important step."
Attorney General William Barr said that he did not expect the prosecutor he handpicked to review the 2016 FBI investigation into President Trump's campaign would investigate former president Barack Obama or former Vice President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C., May 18, 2020.
"Last night, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit entered an order temporarily blocking an injunction entered by a federal district court in Portland that imposed extensive but vaguely defined constraints on federal law enforcement personnel striving to protect the federal courthouse and surrounding areas in Portland from destruction," Barr said.
“In practical effect, the district court’s order prevented the federal government from effectively addressing violent mobs through the general crowd-control measures that are required, and it unacceptably increased the risk of serious injury to federal law enforcement officers. The Ninth Circuit’s decision is an important step that will allow federal officers to continue carrying out their important security responsibilities without being subject to untenable conditions.”
Federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security and US Marshals have been deployed to the area around the federal courthouse in Portland for the majority of the summer in response to to unrest in the aftermath of the George Floyd's killing.
The Department of Homeland Security has come under heavy scrutiny for the deployment of federal agents there and journalists have extensively documented their role.
