Immigration agents carrying out a sweeping operation in Minnesota can’t deploy certain crowd-control measures against peaceful protesters or arrest them, a federal judge ruled Friday. The order follows widespread outrage over a fatal shooting, reports of US citizens getting detained and Minnesotans getting asked for documents for no clear reason.
The new restrictions came as word spread that the Department of Justice is investigating Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over possible obstruction of federal law enforcement, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The probe raises the possibility of criminal consequences for the two Democrats, who have repeatedly told protesters to remain peaceful and to “not take the bait” that could lead to a heavier federal response.
Despite wind chills that plummeted below zero, throngs of demonstrators protested in the snow Friday night near the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis.
Demonstrations intensified last week after 37-year-old mother of three Renee Good was fatally shot in her car by an ICE agent. Tensions flared again this week when another agent shot and injured a Venezuelan man accused of “violently” resisting arrest, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Ruling protects peaceful protests
Federal agents from Operation Metro Surge are not allowed to arrest or retaliate against peaceful protesters or use “pepper-spray or similar nonlethal munitions and crowd dispersal tools” against them, US District Judge Katherine Menendez ruled in a preliminary injunction issued Friday.
Menendez also said the agents can no longer stop and detain drivers when there is “no reasonable articulable suspicion” they are forcibly obstructing or interfering with federal operations. “The act of safely following” the officers “at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop,” the judge added.
The order only applies in Minnesota and only to agents involved in the current operation, and does not apply to other federal officers handling routine duties elsewhere, the order specified.
In a response to the ruling, the Department of Homeland Security said it is “taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters.”
Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said despite these threats, agents follow training and use “the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property.”
The preliminary injunction was requested by activists who filed a lawsuit last month alleging the federal government was violating their constitutional rights. The case is separate from a different lawsuit filed by Minnesota and the Twin Cities on Monday seeking a court-ordered end to what it calls a “federal invasion” during Operation Metro Surge.
By CNN
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