Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum in Salem, Oregon, on Feb. 17, 2015.
Alan Sylvestre / OPB
A civil rights attorney for the Oregon Department of Justice has filed a civil rights complaint against the DOJ.
Erious Johnson Jr. — the only employee at the Oregon DOJ’s Civil Rights Division — has also filed a tort claim, paving the way for a future lawsuit.
“Mr. Johnson intends to seek lost earning potential, attorney fees, punitive damages, and all remedies applicable,” the notice reads.
The action comes after a report was released this week by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum's office, detailing how a DOJ investigator conducted a threat assessment against Johnson in September 2015. That investigator profiled Johnson's social media pages by gathering information on Oregonians who used #BlackLivesMatter online. The investigator went on to confuse a tweet Johnson sent of the rap group Public Enemy with an active threat against police.
The April 2 tort claim notice cites actions by Rosenblum and others as contributing to a “hostile work environment, employment discrimination, and defamation."
Among other complaints, Johnson's tort claim states that the former chief counsel for the DOJ's Criminal Justice Division, Darin Tweedt, informed top supervisors of Johnson's Twitter activity.
"Darin Tweedt was attempting to adversely affect Mr. Johnson's employment and defame his professional reputation," the tort claim alleges.
Related: Tort Claim Notice Filed By Erious Johnson Jr.
It also states that Rosenblum moved Tweedt to an office "three doors down" from Johnson, when the chief counsel was reassigned to a new job in January.
Johnson said he sent a Feb. 8 email to the attorney general and her deputy, Fred Boss, asking her why no one had informed him beforehand that he was likely to run into Tweedt regularly.
"Mr. Johnson has yet to receive a substantive response from either individual," the notice states.
Ten days after the notice and complaint were filed, Rosenblum told OPB the relationship between Johnson and herself is “fine.”
“He’s a valued employee,” Rosenblum said.
This week's report into the incident is part of a broader human resources investigation. Attorney Carolyn Walker, who carried out the audit, described it as an isolated incident, and recommended that the DOJ improve diversity training.
Johnson – a former attorney for the City of New York – also filed the a complaint with Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries, but because BOLI is represented by Johnson on housing issues, his case will be handled by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed Mr. Johnson's former occupation. He was an attorney for the City of New York. OPB regrets the error.