Portland police deploy ‘informants’ within ICE protest crowds to aid in arrests, documents reveal

The nightly protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement complex in South Portland draw a swirling mix of black- and costume-clad protesters, federal agents, police officers and – buried within the crowd – covert informants, court records reveal.

Of the 50 arrests made by Portland Police Bureau officers at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building since June, at least eight criminal cases reference what authorities call “Confidential Reliable Sources” or, more plainly, “informants.”

Police are loath to talk about these unmarked eyes – though the strategy was similarly cited in court records and highly publicized during the 2020 protest movement that rocked Portland.

“I’m sure you can understand why we cannot discuss CRSs,” police spokesperson Sgt. Kevin Allen said Thursday, using an acronym for the confidential reliable sources.

The eight cases are all being prosecuted by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office. Separately, federal agents have arrested roughly 30 people who are being prosecuted in U.S. District Court.

Of the federal court cases, none suggest information was provided by informants, according to the Oregonian/OregonLive’s previous coverage. The New York Times reported that federal agents were covertly placed among protest crowds in 2021.

In Portland, court documents describe “informants” providing detailed information to police, apparently in real-time. The sources provide details about suspects’ clothing, movement and conduct – and at least one case file includes photographs that may have been taken surreptitiously.

Michael German, a former FBI agent and police reform advocate based in San Diego, said the presence of informants at protests is likely no surprise to demonstrators in this age of ubiquitous surveillance. But the use of informants can spur fears of agent provocateurs and lessen community trust, he said, if police aren’t transparent.

“It’s helpful to have somebody who can identify individuals, rather than targeting an entire group of people,” German said. “It’s incumbent upon the city leaders to ensure that there are strict guidelines around that activity.”

But in Portland’s case, little is known about the sources other than they are positioned within crowds and typically track the location of people so that police can arrest them later. Court records say the sources have a reputation for truthfulness and have never been convicted of crimes.

Rian Peck, a defense attorney who has represented protesters, believes that at least some of the informants are plainclothes police officers.

“They tend to hide the ball on the confidential informants until right before trial,” Peck said. “It frustrates the ability to defend these cases.”

Court records do not identify any of the sources.

In one affidavit, senior prosecutor Kevin Demer wrote that officers had worked with the confidential sources previously.

The source “is aware of significant criminal consequences if CRS [unique #] intentionally or knowingly provided false information to law enforcement,” Demer wrote.

The review by the Oregonian/OregonLive shows that informants were present as early as the June 11-12 weekend, when some among an estimated crowd of 400 to 500 people barricaded the field office’s front gate, smashed security cameras and set fires.

For instance, prosecutors allege that an informant saw a protester later identified as Trenton Barker use a flare to set fire to the wooden debris piled up against the gate.

“An informant kept visual on Barker until he was taken into custody by Portland police,” the probable cause affidavit states.

Barker, 34, has been charged with second-degree arson and riot, records show, but the case has stalled due to the persistent shortage of public defenders in Multnomah County.

Probable cause affidavits filed in protest cases from June 14 and June 17 also state informants were present.

Protests largely petered out in the following weeks, with police officers writing that many nights were sparsely attended and “low energy,” according to records submitted in a federal lawsuit over President Donald Trump’s looming deployment of federalized soldiers to the city.

Portland elected leaders and police officials argue Trump’s announcement three weeks ago reinvigorated the nearly dormant protests, leading to the nights of frenzy that federal officials say justify the deployment.

The federal court case is pending as the federal government appeals the temporary restraining order blocking troop deployment.

Prosecutors last noted the use of an informant in a probable cause affidavit on Oct. 2, when police arrested a woman on suspicion of attacking a conservative journalist.

German said the public imagination often portrays informants as undercover agents who infiltrate organizations for long missions. But from a law enforcement viewpoint, he said, almost all criminal cases involve members of the public providing information.

“If somebody witnesses a crime and is willing to cooperate with the police to help solve that crime and protect their community, that’s proper,” he said. “Unfortunately – like anything that involves a high level of secrecy – the chances of abuse go up significantly unless there are rigorous guidelines.”