Portland officials fired back at the Trump administration on Monday, accusing the U.S. Department of Justice of attempting to punish their political foes and help their allies by launching an investigation of Portland police’s arrest of a conservative journalist and influencer last week.

Police arrested 27-year-old Nick Sortor of Washington, D.C. along with two other people on allegations of disorderly conduct, after a fight broke out near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland. The next day, Sortor announced on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice that the agency would conduct a “full investigation” of the Portland Police Bureau stemming from his arrest.

Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. DOJ, announced

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