Federal agents pepper-spray protesters in downtown Eugene

Presenter KEPW News was at the Federal Building in downtown Eugene Tuesday afternoon as federal agents threw one protester to the ground, then pepper-sprayed others. Curtis Blankinship and Echo Sherman report.

Echo Sherman I’m Echo. At the Federal Building downtown, what unfolded was a predictable collision between people exercising their constitutional rights and a federal apparatus increasingly comfortable responding to dissent with chemical force and handcuffs.

Presenter Curtis Blankinship:

Curtis Blankinship I parked at Growers (Market) where we park for the (radio) station and then walked over there, and by then there was about 50 people there and they were setting up the speaker. They just started speaking and right when I walked up, they started speaking and playing music and singing, and they were doing it at the Federal Building. 

They had their folders with singing, lyrics for singing. So then they all started singing with a guitarist there. And so that was all beautiful.  And then I look up, because I always check my surroundings now, always. I’ve learned as a demonstrator to check around, to always keep an eye out behind you and around you. 

And first I saw these two guys walk out of the Federal Building. They had two badges on them and they seemed to assess the situation. And then I think they went back into the building, then came out again and got in their SUV that was across Pearl and took off.

During this time, there was a guy waving a flag right in front of the Federal Building, away from the demonstration. Subsequently, people told me that there is a dispute, that they’ve told us that we can only be on the sidewalk. And people have disputed this, but we were around the sidewalk, but not in the inner part near the doors of the Federal Building. But there was a guy waving his flag at the doors of the Federal Building and the cops came out and basically arrested him.

Presenter The video recorded by Curtis Blankinship is on KEPW’s YouTube channel. Here is the audio from the scene:

Protester Hello everyone! My friend shared this this poem with me the other day and I thought it might benefit you as well. 

The world is both burning and blooming. You get the bad news and the sunrise in the same day. You cry over the headlines and then you laugh at a baby wearing a hat shaped like a bear. This is the dual citizenship of being alive. Rage and reverence. Grief and grace. You’re allowed to feel both. You’re allowed to scream and still notice.

(Crowd sings We Shall Not Be Moved, God Bless America)

Presenter Curtis Blankinship:

Curtis Blankinship What I saw was they roughly arrested the guy right in front of us, halfway between us and the door. They roughly arrested this guy. And so other people came to his defense because they threw him on the ground. And then they started pepper spraying. 

And when they came to arrest the guy, too—I’m not exaggerating when I say this—it looked like the goons from Clockwork Orange with that slow-motion scene where they walk, the goons are walking towards you in Clockwork Orange, only there was a dozen of them in full riot gear. 

And so they came out, roughly arrested this guy, and it looked to me like other people came to his defense. So then, about 15 minutes later, fire trucks showed up with a stretcher, and they brought the stretcher into the building.

Presenter Echo Sherman:

Echo Sherman Multiple clashes occurred. Federal agents deployed pepper spray against demonstrators. Arrests were made. The crowd dispersed and regrouped. Not because they were violent, but because force was introduced into a space where voices had gathered. 

This is what happened today in Eugene. And it demands more than a passive acknowledgment. Let us be clear about what this is and what it is not. The people who gathered at the Federal Building were not an angry mob. They were not armed. They were not calling for destruction. They were engaged in protest, an act protected by the Constitution, foundational to democracy. And as old as the country itself. 

They came with signs, with songs, with witnesses. They came because the silence has consequences. And the response they received was not dialogue, not de-escalation, not transparency, but chemical agents and arrests. 

This matters because how a government responds to peaceful protests will tell you everything about what it fears. Pepper spray is not a conversation. Pepper spray is not a warning. It is not a negotiation tool. It is a chemical weapon designed to incapacitate, to cause pain, to disorient.

When it is used against peaceful demonstrators, it sends the message that the state is more willing to silence discomfort than to address its cause. No amount of procedural language can soften the reality.

Arrests, likewise, are not neutral acts. Detaining protesters communicates that civic engagement carries risks that participation may be punished. And when these arrests are protesting immigration enforcement, the symbolism becomes impossible to ignore. 

Our city officials often point out (correctly) that the federal agencies do not answer to them. Jurisdiction is real. Authority has limits. But leadership is not only about jurisdiction, it’s about advocacy. 

Local leaders can: Demand transparency from federal agencies operating within city limits; publicly document and condemn the use of force against peaceful protesters; ensure local law enforcement does not assist or legitimize federal repression; provide legal observers, support services, and public accountability.

When they do not, the silence is noticed, and silence in moments like these is not neutral.

So here’s what action can look like today, tomorrow and beyond. First, stay informed. Seek out verified local reporting like ours. Don’t rely on rumors or fear-based narratives. And document responsibly when you’ve witnessed protests or enforcement actions, record what you can safely and legally. Engage civic channels. Contact civic councilors and city councilors and the mayor’s office and state representatives. Demand public positions, not vague reassurances. Support legal observers and mutual aid groups assisting those arrested and harmed. 

Show up peacefully. Presence matters. Numbers matter. Calm. Visible. Solidarity matters. Protect one another. Know your rights. Share information. Do not abandon those targeted for speaking up. None of this violates the law. All of it strengthens democracy. 

What’s the moral question at the center of this movement? Every era is defined by the questions it refuses to ignore. The question before Eugene right now is not whether federal agencies have power. They do. The question is whether the people and their local leaders will insist on limits, accountability, and humanity. 

Because the measure of the city is not its comfort, it’s its courage. Eugene has a choice: to look away, or to look directly at what happened today. Now the question is who is listening and who is willing to act?

Presenter KEPW’s Curtis Blankinship and Echo Sherman report as federal agents pepper-spray protesters in downtown Eugene.