A judge is restricting federal officers from using tear gas and other crowd control tactics on peaceful protesters who are not obstructing authorities in Minneapolis, where demonstrations against immigration enforcement persist.
In a ruling on Friday, a judge restricted federal officers from detaining or using tear gas against peaceful protesters who are not obstructing authorities in Minneapolis, where demonstrations over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown are expected to continue this weekend.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement responding to the preliminary injunction, “D.H.S. is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters.”
ICE’s tactics have faced criticism from Democratic leaders, like Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
“What we’re seeing on our streets is unnecessary abuses of force. This is an invasion for the sake of creating chaos by our own federal government,” Frey said on Friday.
Both Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are reportedly under investigation. The Justice Department is looking into whether Frey and Walz impeded law enforcement through past public statements, according to the Associated Press.
“Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic,” Walz said in a social media post on Friday.
“A reminder to all those in Minnesota: No one is above the law,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a separate post, which didn’t explicitly mention the probe.
The warning comes as Minneapolis braces for another weekend of demonstrations. Clashes with protesters have escalated following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in a highly contested incident last week.
“While peaceful expression is protected, any actions that harm people, destroy property, or jeopardize public safety will not be tolerated,” Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson said Friday.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump warned that he could invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act to deploy troops to Minneapolis in response to protests.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump wrote on social media Thursday.
“I don’t think there is any reason right now to use it, but if I needed it, I would use it,” Trump said.
Minnesota’s Attorney General Keith Ellison has said that he would challenge the use of the 19th-century law in court if necessary. He’s already suing to try to stop the recent surge in immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities. DHS says officers have arrested more than 2,500 people as part of its “Metro Surge” operation to date.
