Federal agencies deployed by the Department of Homeland Security, ostensibly to protect federal property, have been using minivans from rental car companies to detain and abduct individuals who are eventually delivered to the local federal courthouse, according to Willamette Weekly.

In a widely circulated video with more than 11 million views, a man is approached by two individuals dressed head-to-toe in camouflage and tactical gear, but with no badging or identification patches.  The man raises his hands above his head as the people taking the video ask him for his name so they can find him later.

The two individuals in camo then escort him to an unmarked minivan, which they enter, and it drives away.

Willamette Weekly reporters tracked the license number of the vehicle, a 2019 Dodge Caravan, to a St. Louis company, EAN Holding Company, an operating subsidiary of Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

The use of rental cars for law enforcement sweeps may fall outside the operational dictum of federal agencies, according to a local lawyer.  It also leads to questions in the heat of the interaction about whether the paramilitary men are actually federal agents because the car does not have US federal government license plates.

In court, this could give people who flee these unidentified agents justification for running, given that local right-wing paramilitary groups could easily mimic the unidentified federal agents.