Demonstrators clash with ICE in Minneapolis, intensifying protests
Protests intensified in Minneapolis as thousands of people clashed with ICE over enforcement tactics following a fatal shooting.
A federal judge has barred immigration officials from using tactics such as pepper spray and arrests against peaceful protesters in Minneapolis.
In a preliminary injunction issued on January 16, U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez in Minnesota granted some respite to local demonstrators protesting the Trump administration’s deployment of thousands of federal immigration agents to the Twin Cities.
The 83-page ruling by Menendez, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, said it would prevent “officials from retaliating against persons engaged in peaceful, undisturbed protests,” including oversight of the federal government’s Operation Metro Surge operations.
The ruling came less than 10 days after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good during a protest in Minneapolis on January 7. Her death sparked demonstrations in several American cities.
The ACLU of Minnesota, which represents the six protesters who filed the lawsuit, said in a social media post that it hopes the injunction will prevent further First Amendment violations. The lawsuit was filed by six protesters on Dec. 17, about two weeks after the federal operation began (three weeks before Goode was shot). Federal agents also shot and killed a second person on Jan. 14 during what authorities described as a targeted traffic stop.
The Department of Homeland Security, the White House and the Department of Justice did not respond to requests for comment. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement to Politico that the First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly, not rioting.
“DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional steps to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous mobs,” McLaughlin said. “We remind the public that rioting is dangerous. Obstructing law enforcement is a federal crime and assaulting law enforcement is a felony.”
Menendez’s order limits operatives from arresting or detaining peaceful protesters, while also restricting the use of crowd-dispersal tactics such as pepper spray and other non-lethal methods against protected demonstrations. Agents also cannot stop or detain a driver or passenger in a vehicle if there is “no articulating reasonable suspicion” that the agent is forcibly interfering with or interfering with the agent, such as when the driver or passenger is following the agent at a “reasonable distance.”
ICE agents shot and killed Good, a mother of three, as she was driving her car as part of a neighborhood patrol by local activists who track and monitor ICE activity. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, a federal official named in the lawsuit, said Good stalked and harassed employees and also said Good had “weaponized” his car and engaged in “domestic terrorism.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, both Democrats, disputed the federal government’s account, saying Good posed no threat to investigators. They argued that the use of deadly force was not justified and cited video that shows Good trying to turn away from officers.
Local authorities have repeatedly asked immigration officials to leave the state. The Justice Department has reportedly opened an investigation into Frey and Walz for conspiracy to obstruct federal immigration enforcement in the state.
Menendez’s opinion acknowledged that the federal operation has expanded dramatically, with an estimated 3,000 police officers in Minnesota, mostly in the Twin Cities. DHS previously said it was the largest such operation in history.
“This operation shows no signs of slowing down and, in fact, appears to be still escalating,” Menendez wrote.
Still, Menendez limited the order to agents covering a portion of the surge in operations in the Twin Cities, as opposed to agents across Minnesota. Menendez wrote that the order remains in effect until the federal operation ends or the conditions that make the order unnecessary end.
Contributed by: Reuters
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Contact us via email (emcuevas1@usatoday.com) or Signal (emcuevas.01).
