A social media post by Civil Rights Division chief Harmeet Dhillon undercut a Justice Department effort to enforce a 2012 Portland police reform settlement agreement, with a federal judge characterizing the post as a threat.

U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon on Friday denied the Justice Department's motion to enforce the 2012 settlement agreement. The DOJ had requested 29 categories of documents from the Portland Police Bureau, asserting it needed them to evaluate the city's compliance with the agreement, according to the ruling. Such court-enforceable settlement agreements are among the primary tools the federal government uses to address unconstitutional policing patterns identified through DOJ investigations authorized under federal law.

The dispute traces back to October 2, 2025, when Portland police arrested conservative influencer Nick Sortor outside the city's Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on a disorderly conduct charge, as reported by OPB. The charge was subsequently dropped.

The following day, Dhillon reposted Sortor's account of his arrest on X and added her own commentary: "Portland: It's FO time. Buckle up." That same day, she signed the Justice Department's demand letter to Portland.

"That is neither language nor tone of a good faith investigation by the United States Department of Justice," Judge Simon wrote in his ruling. "Instead, it exhibits all the hallmarks of a threat and attempted intimidation."

Dhillon's post and the demand letter were issued on October 3, 2025 — the same day Portland police officers were testifying in a separate federal case challenging the Trump administration's deployment of the National Guard to the city, according to the ruling.

"[T]his reasonably appears to be a not-so-subtle signal from the United States Department of Justice to the Portland Police Bureau that if it continued to assist the plaintiffs... the United States Department of Justice could make matters quite difficult, burdensome, and expensive," Simon wrote.

The judge further noted that the 2012 lawsuit concerned the Portland Police Bureau's use of excessive force against individuals experiencing mental health crises — not political viewpoint discrimination.

"It is difficult to accept the United States' current assertion that alleged political viewpoint discrimination is within the scope of the current action," Simon wrote.

The judge found "by clear and convincing evidence" — a demanding legal standard — that "the purported reasons for the 29 requests are pretext."

The ruling adds to a broader pattern of legal setbacks for Dhillon. Courts have dismissed all 15 of her voter roll lawsuits, according to Democracy Docket. She also moved to terminate federal police reform agreements with Minneapolis and Louisville that were reached following the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, part of a wider departmental effort to wind down federal oversight of local policing.

Dhillon is reportedly under consideration for associate attorney general — the number three position at the Justice Department — according to The Guardian.

The 2012 settlement agreement between the Justice Department and Portland remains in effect. Judge Simon has not issued a final termination order.