This story was updated at 9:50 a.m. Thursday to include comments from Judge Kasubhai at Thursday morning's status hearing.
Just over two months since it was installed, a fence surrounding Eugene’s federal building has been dismantled.
Around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, crews in reflective vests and helmets began taking apart the black metal fence, panel by panel, while onlookers and activists watched from the corner of High Street and 7th. One waved an upside-down American flag, while he and several others chanted, “USA! USA! USA!”
The fence went up after Eugene Police declared a January protest — when a window was shattered — a “riot.” The facility houses several federal agencies, but the focus of the recent protests have been directed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel and operations.
The Civil Liberties Defense Center asked the Oregon District Court to have the fence taken down while a lawsuit continues on behalf of several activists, who said that the barrier obstructed their rights to free speech.
After inspecting the fence, U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai originally ordered on June 22 that it be taken down within 48 hours. The federal General Services Administration asked for an extension; the removal was then scheduled for 7 a.m. on July 2.
The federal government has appealed to keep the fence up, but was denied.
David Tillman, who lives in Eugene's Whiteaker neighborhood, stood near the barrier holding his skateboard, as workers stacked sections of fence on the other side. He told KLCC that he was here when the fence first went up on April 29.
“It was a pain to watch, but y’know, it’s over now,” Tillman said, adding that, come the Fourth of July, a number of people plan on being back outside the federal building. “We don’t want anything like this to ever happen again.”
Going forward
The removal of the fence satisfied the requirements of Kasubhai's order, the judge said during a Thursday morning hearing.
Kasubhai found that the federal government had complied with the order, and discussed scheduling for the next steps in the lawsuit.
On July 8, the Ninth Circuit will consider the federal government’s request for a stay on the judge’s order.
Kasubhai warned that what happens at the building in the coming days, and whether there are incidents there, could have an impact on the Ninth Circuit’s decision.
“I certainly hope that everybody–the public, the government, and certainly this court has attempted to do so–be mindful of protecting the First Amendment of our constitution,” said Kasubhai.
Near the end of the hearing, Kasubhai wished both parties in the lawsuit a happy Independence Day.
“This country, after 250 years, has been through quite a bit,” said Kasubhai. “And frankly, the beauty of both our system of government as well as the constitution enables us to have these challenges to answer in real time to make sure that our country endures.”
KLCC's Nathan Wilk contributed to this story.
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