An Oregon woman who lives near a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland has filed a lawsuit over the “constant” noise allegedly coming from late-night protests against ICE and the Trump administration, claiming it is “akin to a torture chamber” and has caused one of her ears to bleed, according to her lawyer.
“It is shrill, with bells, whistles, and air raid siren sounds,” attorney Julie Parrish told local Fox affiliate KPTV of the ICE demonstrations outside Cloud Elvengrail’s apartment building in Portland’s South Waterfront neighborhood.
The targeted ICE building, located at 4310 S. Macadam Ave., has been bombarded by near-nightly protests by the Department of Homeland Security regarding immigration and deportation efforts, which have sparked similar demonstrations throughout the country.
Elvengrail engaged in shouting matches with protesters and threatened legal action, according to video footage captured earlier this month and posted online by The Post Millennial.
“We the people need sleep, motherf—ers!” she can be heard saying in one clip. “You are worse than ICE, terrorizing us every night,” Elvengrail declares. “Go f— yourself!”
According to the Post Millennial, the demonstrators increased their noise disturbance efforts the moment Elvengrail complained that night. According to the local outlet, the group allegedly used a makeshift Long Range Acoustic Device that night and other times to blast music at the ICE office around 1 a.m.
“I am living in constant pain,” Elvengrail told local NBC affiliate KGW in a statement. “My ears are ringing, the sound is so loud it made my left ear bleed, and there is no peace or quiet because the sound weapons they are using day and night are killing us,” she told me. “And we are trapped, with no way out. It has to stop. This noise has devastated those of us in the building who suffer from PTSD.”
Elvengrail filed a complaint against Portland last week, asking a judge to order the city to enforce noise ordinances, saying their lawsuit tells city officials “to do your job,” according to KPTV.
Elvengrail claims in an email to a local community leader cited in the lawsuit that the protest noise has caused her to lose hearing in both ears. “My left ear has begun bleeding,” she explained.
According to Elvengrail’s lawsuit, she is “trapped” in her home because she cannot afford to move elsewhere.
“[The apartment] is more akin to a torture chamber than a home,” Elvengrail’s suit declares.
“Relator’s residence has no air conditioning,” according to the complaint. “To escape the heat of her home, relator is forced to open windows. Relator is forced to make a contradictory choice.
Whether to try to cool her home by opening the windows or to keep her windows closed in order to drown out some of the noise and keep noxious fumes out, relator has a life safety concern.”
At least one neighbor in Elvengrail’s building, Tim Paulk, has come out in support of her claims, telling KPTV that “there are a lot of people” allegedly living outside the ICE facility and apartment building, using megaphones and air horns to intentionally disrupt the peace in protest of the Trump administration.
“I have tried to talk to people, and they just start screaming at me,” Paulk said. “It is super aggressive and inconsiderate of the neighborhood.”
Parrish claims that the demonstrations have created a “life safety issue” for her client, the other residents in her building, and those commuting or working nearby. They have requested an expedited hearing so that the case can be heard as soon as possible.
“She is not saying that people should not stand out there and wave their signs and supportive honks every now and then coming through — that is not what this is,” Parrish told KGW the other day. “She wants the weaponised noise to stop. She wants the City of Portland to come and do their part.”
City officials did not respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment on Sunday.