PORTLAND, Ore. (Oct. 15, 2026) — The U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits Thursday against Portland, Oregon, and St. Paul, Minnesota, challenging local ordinances that restrict federal law enforcement officers from wearing masks and require them to display identification while performing their duties.
The lawsuits, announced Oct. 15, allege that the ordinances violate the U.S. Constitution by attempting to regulate federal law enforcement operations, an authority the Justice Department argues belongs exclusively to the federal government.
The legal challenges target provisions under Portland City Code Sections 23.30.030 and 23.30.100 and Sections 268A and 268B of the St. Paul Code of Ordinances.
According to the Justice Department, the local laws unlawfully interfere with federal operations by restricting officers’ ability to conceal their identities and requiring them to provide identification in a manner prescribed by municipal governments.
Federal officials also contend that the ordinances could expose officers and their families to harassment, threats and violence.
“Under the Supremacy Clause of our Nation’s Constitution, states and localities cannot regulate the Federal Government and its law enforcement officers,” Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said in a statement.
Woodward argued that the ordinances could jeopardize officer safety and interfere with operations authorized by Congress.
“And they certainly cannot enact laws that place the safety of federal law enforcement at risk and undermine federal operations authorized by Congress,” Woodward said.
The lawsuits center on the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which establishes that federal law takes precedence over conflicting state and local laws. The Justice Department argues that the ordinances improperly impose municipal requirements on federal officers carrying out their official responsibilities.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said decisions about equipment used by federal officers fall under federal authority.
“These St. Paul and Portland local laws are a direct regulation of federal law enforcement operations and threaten severe consequences for officers and public safety alike,” Shumate said.
“The Federal Government, not state and local governments, gets to decide which equipment federal officers may or may not wear when performing their official duties.”
In Oregon, U.S. Attorney Scott Bradford criticized Portland’s ordinance, arguing that restrictions on federal officers could interfere with their ability to enforce federal laws and protect the public.
“Aside from being unconstitutional, laws like these impede federal law enforcement’s ability to keep Oregonians safe and endanger the brave men and women of federal law enforcement,” Bradford said.
“They live in our communities. Their kids go to school in our communities. They care about our communities. They are part of our communities. It is unfair and improper to vilify them for political purposes.”
The Justice Department also alleges that requiring officers to reveal identifying information could increase the risk of doxxing, a practice involving the public disclosure of personal information, and discourage officers from carrying out certain enforcement activities.
Those claims are allegations made by the federal government and have not been established by a court ruling in the newly filed cases.
The lawsuits are part of a broader Justice Department initiative examining state and local policies that federal officials believe interfere with federal law enforcement.
According to the department, the Civil Division has been directed to identify laws, policies and practices that potentially obstruct lawful federal operations or facilitate violations of federal law.
The department said it has pursued similar legal challenges involving jurisdictions in New York, Virginia, Connecticut, New Jersey, California, Maryland, Philadelphia, Denver and Milwaukee.
The Portland and St. Paul lawsuits represent the latest legal disputes over the extent to which local governments can establish rules affecting federal law enforcement officers operating within their jurisdictions.
The Justice Department maintains that the ordinances exceed municipal authority and conflict with federal law.
The lawsuits seek to challenge the legality of the local restrictions. The filing of the complaints does not itself establish that either city’s ordinance is unconstitutional.
The Justice Department’s announcement did not include responses from officials representing Portland or St. Paul.
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