The Oregonian reports:

An elderly couple says they were charged and knocked down by federal agents as they peacefully protested on Saturday in front of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland, just blocks from their home.

Laurie Eckman, 84, said she and her husband Richard Eckman, also 84 and a Vietnam war veteran, were rushed by federal officers “for no apparent reason.” She said her husband was leaning on his walker and wearing his Vietnam veterans cap as he was pushed to the ground.

“It was totally unprovoked. It was not the kind of crowd that shouts the ‘F word.’ It was people like us, our neighbors. There were families, there were several veterans,” Laurie Eckman told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “With no warning the feds charged into us, knocked us down and sprayed us. I was hit in the head with a projectile.”

Laurie Eckman said the couple joined the protest on a spur of the moment when they saw the kickoff rally at Elizabeth Caruthers Park from their kitchen window. They live in the neighborhood and walk past the ICE building daily with their dog. [Continue reading…]