Department of Justice Says It Will Appeal Judge’s Order Directing ICE To Refrain From Retaliating Against Peaceful Protesters

The Department of Justice says they will appeal a judge’s ruling directing ICE to not retaliate against or use chemical agents on peaceful protesters who are demonstrating against the agency non-violently. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has called the judge’s order redundant because her agents have not been taking such actions, despite testimony from Minnesotans who have been arrested or pepper sprayed simply for attending protesters or being in the vicinity of a demonstration. In a court filing on Monday, the federal government said it would be appealing Judge Katherine Menendez’s injunction, which was issued Friday, directing federal agents to refrain from retaliating against protesters. Judge Menendez issued a lengthy ruling on Friday, detailing the harassment and violence that protesters had faced despite demonstrating peacefully. The lawsuit was filed in December by six Minnesotans who say they were subjected by federal agents to the “use of chemical irritants, intimidation, including by pointing firearms at them, detention, and arrest, in violation of their First and Fourth Amendment rights.”The lead plaintiff in the case, Susan Tincher, says she observed federal agents in her neighborhood in December, walked up to them to ask if they were ICE, and was pulled to the ground by officers, where she was handcuffed while laying in the snow. She says she did nothing more than ask them a question from several feet away. When she was taken into custody at a nearby federal building, her clothes were removed, her wedding ring was cut off, and she was told she would be charged with obstructing a federal officer. She was promptly released and no charges have been filed. The five other plaintiffs in the case alleged similar interactions with ICE, including being unnecessarily aggressively handled by agents, being detained without cause, and being subject to chemical irritants despite not actively interfering with agents’ operations. Judge Menendez largely agreed that the individuals in the lawsuit had their constitutional rights infringed, and that agents would not be able to harass protesters who are not actively trying to disrupt operations. “[T]he Court concludes that the First Amendment protects the right to peacefully observe government officials, including law enforcement officers,who are engaged in their official duties in public,” Judge Menendez, a nominee of President Biden, wrote in her order. “Because here, Plaintiffs have specifically alleged facts, supported by evidence of meaningful weight, that they engaged in conduct that the Court finds to be protected by the First Amendment, they have satisfied the first element of a First Amendment retaliation claim.”She further writes that ICE agents’ actions in Minnesota would “chill a person of ordinary firmness from engaging in further protected activity.”In assessing the First Amendment violation arguments, Judge Menendez says she is unsatisfied by the local ICE field office director’s responses. She says that his assertion that Ms. Tincher was obstructing a law enforcement operation that relies on “a counter-factual narrative that is unattributed to anyone at the scene and contains unsworn hearsay from police reports.” She further states that the ICE officer’s claims that there was no retaliation “is largely contradicted by the videos” presented in court.“To be clear, the Court’s injunction does nothing to prevent Defendants from continuing to enforce immigration laws,” Judge Menendez writes. “But it does not constitute irreparable harm to require the government to honor the constitutional rights of those who peacefully protest and observe law enforcement activities.”Ms. Noem has largely brushed off this ruling, telling CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that ICE agents were not doing any of the things that plaintiffs have alleged. She called the order “a little ridiculous.”“We only use those chemical agents when there is violence,” she said, despite video evidence showing otherwise.

Department of Justice Says It Will Appeal Judge’s Order Directing ICE To Refrain From Retaliating Against Peaceful Protesters

Department of Justice Says It Will Appeal Judge’s Order Directing ICE To Refrain From Retaliating Against Peaceful Protesters

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