Two human rights activists represented by the Civil Liberties Defense Center are suing President Donald Trump, Kristi Noem and the Department of Homeland Security for violating protesters’ First Amendment Rights. 

The lawsuit, filed Dec. 5 by the Eugene-based activist legal defense nonprofit alleges that the defendants violated the constitutional rights of protesters on public sidewalks and federal property accessible to the public. 

The CLDC alleges that protesters can be threatened, arrested and then have charges dropped as a way to intimidate protesters but keep the intimidation out of court. The nonprofit legal defense group says the lawsuit could affect the rights of protesters across the country.

CLDC and the plaintiffs, Chloe Longworth and Anna Lardner, argue that Trump’s administration expedited new rules that unconstitutionally expand regulations governing conduct on federal property. Originally, the revisions were set to take effect January 2026, but they were moved to Nov. 5. 

Lardner and Longworth have protested outside the downtown Eugene federal building and say they’ve been victims of retaliation from DHS officers since the new regulations were adopted. 

On Nov. 25, Lardner was standing on the corner of Sixth and High streets with a loudspeaker reading excerpts of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder, a book analyzing America’s turn toward authoritarianism. Lardner says she was approached by DHS officers who gave her a warning and said she could be arrested or cited under the new regulations if she continued, despite her being on public property.

“It was very clear they were just trying to intimidate me into stopping, and we’ve seen the effect that this has had on other protesters,” Lardner says.

Longworth was arrested by federal agents for a noise violation under the new regulations, although her charges were later dropped. Lauren Regan, founder and executive director of the CLDC, says these actions are intended to intimidate protesters from showing up to the federal building. “We knew at that point that they were going to keep threatening, arresting and then dropping the criminal charges so that I was unable to actually litigate the constitutionality of their actions,” Regan says. “That’s what compelled us to need to be proactive and file this lawsuit.”

The Trump administration claims these regulations were meant to protect federal officers and not interfere with protesters’ First Amendment rights. However, Lardner says these rules allow officers to enforce regulations on public sidewalks, violating both the Oregon and U.S. constitutions. The rules prohibit activities on federal property such as: Posting fliers, photographing, video and audio recording, wearing a mask, creating loud noise, smoking and “obstructing the usual use, enjoyment or access to the Federal property.” 

An exemption for photography and recording exists if it is done so from publicly accessible exterior areas of federal facilities. 

An exemption also exists that allows the media to photograph and record the interior of a facility only with “the express permission of the occupying tenant.”

Longworth and Lardner are seeking a declaration from the court that the DHS’s actions are unlawful. They’re also seeking an injunction order to bar the continued implementation and enforcement of the new regulations. “If that is granted, it will basically stop the usage of those federal regulations around the country,” Regan says. “What happens in this Eugene courtroom in the next week will impact the rights of protesters who are challenging ICE and the federal government’s policies on immigration around the country.”

This comes after months of protests at multiple ICE facilities across the country, most notably the Portland facility, which Trump famously called a warzone. Since early June, protesters have stood outside the Federal Building in Portland demanding that ICE leave the city.

Despite the overwhelmingly peaceful nature of protesters at the Portland federal building, federal officials have violently cracked down against protesters, deploying tear gas, pepper spray and more.

In Eugene, protesters gather each week outside the DHS and ICE offices at the downtown federal building. The Eugene protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful with the exception of a Sept. 23 protest, which resulted in the arrest of three activists who allegedly threw objects at federal officers. “I feel like it’s important for people to stand up to what the federal government is doing, although it’s scary to stand up to the federal government,” Lardner says. “It is important that we set an example to stand up for our Constitution.”

this post has been updated to reflect the correct author for On Tyranny.