U.S. judge orders federal agents to stop pepper spraying, retaliating against peaceful Minnesota protesters
A U.S. judge on Friday ordered federal law enforcement participating in the Minnesota immigration crackdown to stop pepper spraying, detaining and pulling over peaceful protesters.
The preliminary injunction by Judge Katherine Menendez of the U.S. District Court in Minnesota applies to federal agents and officers participating in Operation Metro Surge, the controversial immigration crackdown launched by the administration of President Donald Trump, who has promised to round up criminal migrants for deportation across the country.
It will remain in effect, Menendez wrote, until the mission concludes or conditions are such that it is no longer needed. The judge stated the federal operation started in Minnesota on Dec. 4 in Minnesota.
The ruling orders federal law enforcement to stop taking action against peaceful protesters, including those demonstrating against federal agents and officers.
A protester’s face is doused in water after he was pepper-sprayed Monday outside the Bishop Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis. Jen Golbeck / AP
The injunction for now prohibits “retaliating against persons who are engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity, including observing the activities of Operation Metro Surge,” according to Friday’s ruling.
Federal law enforcement is also ordered not to detain or arrest otherwise lawful protesters, use pepper spray against them as a crowd dispersal measure; or stop vehicles when there is no reasonable suspicion those inside are hindering federal agents’ and officers’ efforts on immigration.
The injunction is a response to a lawsuit, filed Dec. 17 by the ACLU on behalf of six protesters and observers who alleged their constitutional rights, including freedom of speech and right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures, were violated by federal agents. The plaintiffs have been subjected to arrest, detention and pepper spraying, and had firearms pointed at them, during the immigration enforcement operation, according to the ruling.
The lawsuit names as defendants Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem; Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; as well as multiple other officials and agencies under the department.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that officers and agents have displayed restraint amid what she characterized as riotous protests.
“DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters,” she said by email. “Rioters and terrorists have assaulted law enforcement, launched fireworks at them, slashed the tires of their vehicles, and vandalized federal property.”
McLaughlin defended the law enforcement personnel, stating they have “followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property.”
She did not say whether the Trump administration will appeal the ruling.
The Trump administration has been cracking down on immigrants in a bid to arrest hundreds of thousands of what its officials have described as criminals in the country illegally. It launched high-profile missions to detain immigrants in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York, and other major cities starting last year as Trump has pressured the Department of Homeland Security and its agencies, including ICE, to show the public big arrest numbers.
On Thursday, Trump said on Truth Social that he would invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesota’s leaders don’t get a handle on protesters the president described as “professional agitators” and “insurrectionists” who he alleged have been attacking ICE officers and agents.
The officers and agents “are only trying to do their job,” Trump said.
By invoking the rarely used 1807 law, the president said he would have the authority to deploy the military domestically without approval from Congress.
Menendez’s Friday decision comes after an ICE officer in Minneapolis fatally shot a protester in her SUV in the area of federal law enforcement on Jan. 7. The killing of Renee Nicole Good, 37, set off widespread criticism, with federal officials saying the officer who shot her was acting in self defense, claiming she was trying to run the officer over.
Some, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, have cast doubt on the department’s narrative. Eyewitness accounts and video of the incident reviewed by NBC News raise questions about whether the vehicle posed an immediate threat, though key details remain under investigation.
Interactions between federal law enforcement and protesters have been at times tense, and Minneapolis officials have called for calm and discouraged violence.
On Wednesday, a federal officer shot a Venezuelan man in the leg during an attempted traffic stop, the Department of Homeland Security said. The department alleged the man fled, then he and two others attacked the officer with a snow shovel and broom, at which point “the officer fired defensive shots.”
Protesters gathered in the neighborhood after the shooting, with videos showing some yelling and throwing snowballs at officers and agents, and law enforcement personnel deploying “flash bang” devises and chemical irritants.
Menendez concluded that plaintiffs generally participated in “protected activity” and were sometimes subjected to retaliatory action by federal law enforcement. In one instance, multiple plaintiffs were stopped by federal agents who did not cite any violation of state traffic law, the judge wrote.
She denied the government’s request to stay, or pause, the order, though she left the door open to requests by either side to modify her decision.
“The Court has endeavored to balance the ongoing irreparable harm to Plaintiffs against harm to Defendants from limiting their activities,” the judge wrote.
