Source: @BikePortland
On July 23, 2020 Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) sent a Cease & Desist demand to the federal troops occupying Portland, ordering the removal of a fence illegally blocking a downtown bike lane.
The feds not only didn't remove it, they didn't even respond.
The City of Portland is fining the Federal Government $500 every 15 minutes the fence remains up. The counter above shows how much they currently owe Portland, and Portland has every intention on collecting.
On Thursday, I directed @PBOTinfo to enforce on the federal occupiers for erecting a fence in our public right of way. PBOT filed a cease and desist demand on behalf of the City—we have not received a response.
— Commissioner Eudaly (@ChloeEudalyPDX) July 28, 2020
We are assessing the maximum fine of $500 for every 15 minutes the fence obstructs our street, & we are investigating other legal remedies. Typically, we would send a maintenance crew or contractor to remove such an obstruction, but I will not send workers into harm's way.
— Commissioner Eudaly (@ChloeEudalyPDX) July 28, 2020
Yes, I am afraid to direct workers to do their job and enforce our laws against the federal government—I hope that gives everyone reading this pause.
— Commissioner Eudaly (@ChloeEudalyPDX) July 28, 2020
As of yesterday, the federal government owes us $192,000 and counting. We intend to collect.
This is one of many actions taken against this illegal federal occupation since they arrived — uninvited and unwelcome — in Portland on July 4, 2020. Since their arrival to ostensibly protect a federal building, they have brutally assaulted nonviolent protesters every night. Using chemical weapons, "less-lethal" munitions, and stun grenades, these feds have consistently violated Portland citizens' constitutional right to assemble. They have injured many protesters, causing many to need hospitalization and surgery. Some are permanently disfigured due to their brutal tactics.
Reports filed in during the first week of March that the fence finally got pulled down. That would be in the order of magnitude of 11 million dollars, if the feds were serious about paying.
The security fence around the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse in downtown Portland is coming down this week. The fence was originally built in response to protests over racial injustice last summer.
— Oregon Public Broadcasting, March 9, 2021
Meanwhile, in front of the Hatfield Federal Courthouse, a walk down memory lane: the last of the fence is being removed, and the detritus of the summer is left behind.
— @45thabsurdist March 11, 2021
Given the start time and rate, you can predict when the fees will hit certain interesting values.
| Value: | Elapsed Minutes: | At Time: |
|---|---|---|
| $100,000.00 | 3,000 | 7/25/2020 3:12:00 PM |
| $200,000.00 | 6,000 | 7/27/2020 5:12:00 PM |
| $300,000.00 | 9,000 | 7/29/2020 7:12:00 PM |
| $400,000.00 | 12,000 | 7/31/2020 9:12:00 PM |
| $500,000.00 | 15,000 | 8/02/2020 11:12:00 PM |
| $600,000.00 | 18,000 | 8/05/2020 1:12:00 AM |
| $700,000.00 | 21,000 | 8/07/2020 3:12:00 AM |
| $800,000.00 | 24,000 | 8/09/2020 5:12:00 AM |
| $900,000.00 | 27,000 | 8/11/2020 7:12:00 AM |
| $1,000,000.00 | 30,000 | 8/13/2020 9:12:00 AM |
| $2,000,000.00 | 60,000 | 9/03/2020 5:12:00 AM |
| $3,000,000.00 | 90,000 | 9/24/2020 1:12:00 AM |
| $4,000,000.00 | 120,000 | 10/14/2020 9:12:00 PM |
| $5,000,000.00 | 150,000 | 11/04/2020 5:12:00 PM |
| $6,000,000.00 | 180,000 | 11/25/2020 1:12:00 PM |
| $7,000,000.00 | 210,000 | 12/16/2020 9:12:00 AM |
| $8,000,000.00 | 240,000 | 1/06/2021 5:12:00 AM |
| $9,000,000.00 | 270,000 | 1/27/2021 1:12:00 AM |
| $10,000,000.00 | 300,000 | 2/16/2021 9:12:00 PM |
| $11,000,000.00 | 330,000 | 3/09/2021 5:12:00 PM |
“The Federal Government is absolutely immune from fines or penalties issued by local governments unless there is a clear waiver of sovereign immunity by Congress. ... There has been no such waiver here.”
— KOIN.com, 9 Oct. 2020
“Portland transportation officials last month quietly waived a nearly $11 million fine the city levied against the federal government for erecting an illegal fence that jutted out into Southwest Third Avenue outside a downtown courthouse last year.”
— The Oregonian, 27 Apr. 2021
2021-04-27, 08:24 : Link to Portland waiving fees.2021-04-04, 08:24 : Fence taken down last month. Linked to news and stopped the counter.2020-10-20, 08:24 : Fence reconfiguration? dissassembly? Extended prediction table.2020-10-11, 08:24 : Added federal reaction.2020-07-30, 08:50 : Timetable of fees, minor meta work (favicon, updated Twitter preview).2020-07-29, 11:46 : Updated with a more accurate start time, based on Removal Notice sign. Fancy LCD Font.
The source code and design documents live on GitHub as pdxfence.
Check the readme file file there for the specific reasoning used to backsolve the T-0 (origin time) from which we
start accumulating fees. The project also includes a plea to folks that may know better for a more accurate
cease-and-desist time.
This site is hosted through a static S3 bucket, with HTTPs support provided by CloudFront.