KOIN.com

Suit claims federal agents pulled Portland protester into unmarked van

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A protester has filed a lawsuit against federal agents, claiming the anonymous officers pulled her into an unmarked van in 2020.

The protester, Evelyn Bassi, has lived in Portland her entire life, and began attending protests in early June of 2020, according to court documents.

At the time, demonstrations grew across the country following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

In the lawsuit, Bassi claims she was headed home when the agents grabbed her, then drove her several blocks, before pulling her out and detaining her.

The suit calls the detainment unlawful, saying it was retaliation against free speech, and calls for a jury trial.

In another protest-related lawsuit, Bassi sued Proud Boy Alan Swinney in connection to an assault during a protest that same year. Swinney is currently serving a ten-year prison sentence for the attack.