Attorneys representing the General Services Administration are seeking a decision by 5 p.m. Monday night on their request to halt the court’s preliminary injunction, which orders the removal of the fence around the Eugene Federal Building. 

According to court documents filed Sunday, June 28, the process of removing the fence will need to begin on the evening of June 29 in order to meet the court’s July 2 deadline, but the government is asking the court to extend its halt of the fence removal until after it files its appeal on Wednesday, July 1. 

On June 22, U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai granted a preliminary injunction to remove the fence around the federal building after the Civil Liberties Defense Center and six Eugene activists sued GSA on June 4, claiming the fence violated their First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly. 

The injunction originally ordered the government to remove the fence within 48 hours but was later extended to July 2 at 7 a.m.

According to documents, the government intends to appeal the injunction, arguing that Kasubhai “fundamentally misconstrues” the First Amendment. 

“That extension did not practically provide the government sufficient time to seek intervention from this Court because the court still had not yet provided a written opinion justifying the court’s injunction,” court documents said.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.