Protesters in Portland, Oregon, doxed dozens of federal law enforcement officers, according to reports, with demonstration leaders encouraging those receiving the information to visit officers’ homes.
Federal Protective Service Deputy Director of Operations Richard Cline revealed the doxing in a press conference late Tuesday, as a way of explaining why Customs and Border Patrol agents, helping to quell the riots in Portland and defend the city’s federal courthouse, were not wearing badges that featured their names — only the CBP insignia — according to Fox News.
“We are going to convert their name [tags] to their badge number as about 38 of our officers that are out there have been doxed and their personal information has been put online,” Cline said.
A number of activists have complained that federal officials acting as law enforcement in Portland are keeping their identities “secret,” and operating as a “secret” police force, but CBP, FPS, and Department of Homeland Security officials have been open about operations in Portland and willing to answer questions about potential “unmarked” cars, interrogations, and arrests.
In a series of interviews on Monday, DHS spokespeople acknowledged that an “elite” unit of border patrol agents had been dispatched to Portland to assist in calming unrest, some of which has gone on for more than 52 days, and much of which is violent. The operation was ordered after Portland city officials reportedly refused to commit to protecting federal property in the city’s downtown area, including a federal courthouse, which has been under siege for more than a month.
After complaints surfaced over the weekend of “secret” operations, DHS noted that officers assigned to Portland are wearing branch insignia on their uniforms and that an “unmarked” vehicle was used only when officers felt they were in danger from a “mob.”
Cline went a step further in explaining that officers are not wearing badges bearing their names out of concern for their families, a sentiment Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan echoed in a wide-ranging interview with Fox News on Wednesday.
“That’s another thing that’s absolutely disgusting,” Morgan said, referring to protesters’ efforts to spread personal information about federal officers assigned to Portland. “So they’re not only jeopardizing the lives of the agents, they’re also jeopardizing the lives of their families as they’re putting out their home information and they’re suggesting that individuals go to their homes.”
“So yes, as acting commissioner, I have authorized and supported removing their names from their uniforms,” Morgan admitted.
DHS has reportedly known for some time that “anarchist” and “Antifa-style” groups use doxing as an aggressive tactic. A memo released to DHS employees last summer outlines the agency’s concerns about personal information.
“While doxing does not in and of itself constitute a threat to law enforcement and their families, doxing might result in the downstream threat of violence by violent opportunists or domestic violent extremists (DVEs), or otherwise prevent DHS personnel or law enforcement partners from executing their lawful mission,” the note reads, per Fox.