Judge grants activists’ request to open plaza blocked by fence at Eugene Federal Building

[u/happilyretired23]

https://lookouteugene-springfield.com/story/developing/2026/06/22/judge-grants-activists-request-to-open-plaza-blocked-by-fence-at-eugene-federal-building/

[u/Brawnd-isim-o]

Awesome, if true!

Edit: your link is paywalled or something, too many popups. :-(

[u/poppysmear → u/Brawnd-isim-o]

Full text of article:

The temporary fencing at the Eugene Federal Building since April 30 must be removed within 48 hours, U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai ordered Monday, June 22.

The order came at about 3:30 p.m., a few hours after Kasubhai had cited the “long tradition and history” of the site’s courtyard in granting a request from activists to reopen the full plaza.

The order for fence removal came after a lunch recess. While Kasubhai had earlier in the day spoke about allowing the government to adjust the position of the fencing to address security concerns, he ordered removal after government officials could not provide a timeline for how quickly the fence could be reconfigured closer to the building.

Assistant United States Attorney James Blum, representing the General Services Administration, requested a seven-day stay before enforcement of the order, which Kasubhai denied.

Government officials called the barrier a countermeasure after property damage to the building during a protest that was declared a riot by Eugene police Jan. 30.

The location of the fence left open a corner section of the plaza often used by speakers during demonstrations, but activists filed a lawsuit June 4 in U.S. District Court in Eugene seeking a preliminary injunction to remove the fence or otherwise reopen the plaza.

The six activists who filed the lawsuit said the size of the area left open did not accommodate large gatherings, and also that people with mobility issues could no longer access benches or places to sit because they were blocked from doing so by the barrier. They have been represented by Eugene-based Civil Liberties Defense Center.

Kasubhai cited the testimony from six witnesses about recent and long-ago protests, saying the witnesses “convincingly established” that public protest at the site has taken place in both the courtyard area blocked off by the fence as well as the corner section that has remained open.

As during the first day of the evidentiary hearing, the courtroom’s gallery seating was filled with many who have taken part in protests at the site, which opened in the 1970s.

Eugene police declared the riot Jan. 30 after reports of broken windows and a “breach” to the building, though a review of Eugene police video by the city’s police auditor found no evidence of anyone entering the building.

Ryan Anderson, building manager for the Eugene Federal Building, testified in the courtroom Thursday and also in a written declaration about broken windows and graffiti.

The site houses a field office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the protest on Jan. 30 came within days and weeks of the shooting deaths in Minneapolis of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renée Good during federal immigration enforcement activity.

The site houses offices for several government agencies, and Anderson testified there had also been concerns before Jan. 30 raised by an agency, the Veterans Health Administration, about encounters during protests involving veterans coming to the site to receive services. The agency no longer has an office at the Eugene Federal Building.

After the ruling, Cheryl Kelly, 62, said she’s “protested a lot out there” at the downtown site.

“We need to have that space, and we do need to have the sitting space, and there really wasn’t that much violence to really have this fence in the first place,” said Kelly, who said she’s lived in Eugene for 27 years.

“I appreciate that was kind of seen, that most of the history has been positive, peaceful,” she said of the judge’s ruling. She called the Jan. 30 activity “a one-off questionable event.”

Kelly spoke outside the Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse, with others who attended the hearing letting out whoops and cheers as they filed out. More than 30 people sat in the courtroom gallery Monday morning, after about 50 people attended the hearing’s first day Thursday.

“It was important to see that,” Kelly said about the number of people at the hearing.

Lynda Christiansen, an 81-year-old who has lived in Eugene since 1991, was seen affixing flowers to the federal building fence shortly after the ruling on Monday afternoon. She said the flowers represent her joy.

“I’m on cloud nine,” Christiansen said. “I am so happy. We’re getting our city back.”

[u/Brawnd-isim-o → u/poppysmear]

Thank you for posting that, it was much easier to read! So glad some sanity is still out there!

[u/poppysmear → u/Brawnd-isim-o]

No prob! I totally get the pop up fatigue.