On October 2, 2025, Portland police arrested independent journalist Nick Sortor outside an ICE facility amid ongoing anti-ICE protests, charging him with misdemeanor disorderly conduct after he reported being assaulted by demonstrators who damaged his camera and punched him.
Video footage shows protesters surrounding Sortor and threatening him while officers stood by without intervening, echoing a prior incident where police declined to arrest an assailant of another journalist, Katie Daviscourt.
The Trump administration responded by ordering a federal civil rights investigation into the Portland Police Bureau and directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to prepare troops for deployment while reviewing federal funding to the city.
