A U.S. federal judge has issued an order limiting the crowd control tactics that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can use against “peaceful and non-disruptive” protesters in Minneapolis.
Judge Catherine Menendez ruled Friday night that federal agents cannot arrest or pepper-spray peaceful protesters, including those surveilling and observing ICE agents.
The ruling comes ahead of planned weekend protests against the city’s broader immigration measures following the shooting death of Renee Good by ICE agents earlier this month.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it was taking steps to protect officers from rioters.
Minnesota officials previously urged protesters expected to take to the streets this weekend to maintain order and peace.
A U.S. defense official told the BBC’s U.S. partner CBS News that about 1,500 active-duty troops were on standby in Alaska for a possible deployment to Minneapolis.
According to CBS, the official said soldiers from the 11th Airborne Division at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks could be an option if President Trump decides to deploy active-duty soldiers.
The official told CBS that no decision has yet been made on whether to send troops.
National Guard troops have been put on alert and other law enforcement officials have been deployed ahead of expected anti-ICE protests and counter-march by conservatives.
Judge Menendez’s 83-page order prohibits federal agents from arresting people engaging in peaceful, undisturbed protest activities and “using pepper spray or similar non-lethal ammunition and crowd dispersal devices.”
The ruling, which stems from a lawsuit filed by a group of protesters last December, also limits agents from stopping or detaining drivers and passengers of vehicles without reasonable suspicion that they are forcibly interfering with or interfering with business operations.
“The act of safely following (an immigration agent) at a reasonable distance does not in itself create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop,” it says.
“The BBC is taking appropriate and constitutional steps to uphold the rule of law and protect officers and the public from dangerous rioters,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement to the BBC’s US partner CBS.
The White House also criticized this ruling.
“This outrageous ruling embodies a dishonest left-wing narrative,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told POLITICO. “The truth is this: Federal agents acted lawfully to protect themselves and ensure the integrity of their operations when individuals attempted to intervene.”
Minneapolis has been on edge since the shooting of Good on Jan. 7, with protests taking place across the city.
There have been some reports of clashes between protesters and federal officials over the past week.
Last Saturday, the Minnesota National Guard posted on Site X that “troops are on standby and ready to assist local law enforcement and public safety agencies.”
The post added that the National Guard will wear high-visibility yellow vests “to help distinguish them from other agencies wearing similar uniforms.”
Also on Friday, the Justice Department announced it was investigating the state’s leading Democrats, Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, for alleged attempts to interfere with federal immigration operations.
Both condemned ICE operations in the city.
“A reminder to everyone in Minnesota: no one is above the law,” U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi said in an online statement.
The survey was criticized by Walz and Frey.
“Weaponizing the judicial system against one’s opponents is an authoritarian tactic,” Waltz said in a statement.
