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A federal appeals court on Monday left in place its ruling against limiting federal agents’ actions against protesters and observers in Minnesota. 

 brought by the American Civil Liberties Union alleging that federal agents are violating protesters’ and observers’ rights amid the ongoing surge of federal immigration agents to Minnesota.

 in the case, barring agents from interfering with peaceful protesters. That included detaining protesters and observers who had not committed a crime, and using crowd control methods like pepper spray and nonlethal munitions.

 shortly after. The court said the order was too vague, after attorneys for the federal government argued that the injunction could limit agents’ ability to defend themselves and control crowds.

The ACLU asked the court to reconsider after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents on Saturday, citing “escalating, imminent risks” to protesters and observers. Attorneys for the ACLU submitted statements from 

 to that shooting, alleging that Pretti did not pose a threat to agents.

In its ruling Monday, the appeals court declined to reinstate the order limiting agents’ responses to protesters and observers. In their opinion, the judges wrote that the category of protesters and observers that the initial injunction seeks to protect is too broad, as protesters behave differently toward federal agents. 

The judges also wrote that the injunction’s requirements for federal agents “are simply commands to ‘obey the law,’ which are ‘not specific enough.’”

The case will continue through an appeals process.

Crime, Law and Justice

Immigration enforcement in Minnesota

Estelle Timar-Wilcox

Author

A federal appeals court on Monday left in place its ruling against limiting federal agents’ actions against protesters and observers in Minnesota. 


Federal court opts not to restrict federal agents’ actions against protesters

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