by Shaanth Nanguneri, Oregon Capital Chronicle
August 27, 2026
Oregon’s attorney general has closed the door on several potential criminal investigations into federal agents that were spurred by reports of alleged misconduct reported by Oregonians since last fall.
In March, Oregon Department of Justice officials released to the Capital Chronicle roughly two dozen reports of alleged federal misconduct that Oregonians submitted to the agency’s Federal Oversight and Accountability Reporting portal. But the agency at the time declined to release an additional six reports, citing a public records law shielding them from disclosure due to ongoing criminal investigation.
Five of those six now-closed reports involve concerns about federal officers indiscriminately deploying tear gas and using excessive force against protesters at the Portland Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and the other involves federal agents’ use of munitions on protesters in January outside the Eugene Federal Building.
But the investigator reviewing the reports ultimately concluded that they do not warrant full criminal investigations, according to Jenny Hansson, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Justice.
The Oregon Department of Justice launched the Oversight and Accountability portal to allow Oregonians to report incidents of when federal agents violate the law or someone’s civil rights. Its debut came a month before Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and three Portland-area district attorneys warned Trump administration officials that local and state governments could pursue prosecutions into federal agents, citing incidents such as the use of tear gas at Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and federal agents smashing the window of a 17-year old citizen on a lunch break from school.
“Oregonians are our eyes and ears, and when they share what they’ve experienced or witnessed, it can make a real difference in our ability to hold the federal government accountable,” Rayfield told the Capital Chronicle in March. “If you have something to submit, we want to hear from you. Every report helps us build the case that federal agents must operate within the law, just like everyone else.”
Other states move ahead on prosecutions
The decision by Oregon Department of Justice officials to refrain from investigating allegations in the Oversight and Accountability reports comes as local prosecutors in other Democratic-led states — such as Illinois, Colorado and Minnesota — have filed criminal charges over the conduct of federal immigration agents. Federal agents enjoy significant criminal immunity for conduct within the scope of their duties under an 1890 U.S. Supreme Court precedent involving the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause, though it does not extend to conduct courts deem unreasonable.
Over the past few decades, however, federal courts have rarely allowed state-led prosecutions of federal agents to move forward. Federal officers have often successfully petitioned to remove cases from state to federal court where officers have obtained immunity.
Scott Moore, a spokesperson for the Oregon justice department, confirmed that the agency has opened other investigations into federal agents’ use of force that did not originate from the Oversight and Accountability portal. Rayfield, for instance, has suggested he will remain quiet on an ongoing investigation into U.S. Border Patrol’s shooting of two Venezuelan nationals in Portland in January until it is complete.
Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Shumway for questions: [email protected].