A Minnesota judge is blocking federal officials from firing tear gas at peaceful protesters
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A Minnesota judge issued a ruling Friday barring federal officials from arresting or firing tear gas at peaceful protesters who resist authorities while participating in Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis.
The order from US District Judge Kate Menendez barring the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and federal agents comes amid ongoing protests and tensions in Minneapolis after an ICE agent shot and killed Minnesota resident Renee Good earlier this month.
The ruling prohibits officers from retaliating against anyone who peacefully protests or observes the actions of immigration officials, adding that federal agents must demonstrate probable cause or reasonable suspicion that someone has committed a crime or is obstructing the operation of law.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said following the ruling that the First Amendment does not protect “riots,” adding that DHS “takes reasonable and constitutional steps to uphold the law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous riots.”
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The police are standing in the midst of tear gas at the scene of the incident that was reported on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Photo by Adam Gray/AP)
“We remind the public that sedition is dangerous — obstruction of justice is a federal crime and breaking the law is a felony,” McLaughlin said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital. “Insurgents and terrorists attacked law enforcement officers, detonated explosives, slashed the tires of their vehicles, and destroyed government property. Others chose to ignore instructions and try to prevent the operation of the law and use their vehicles as weapons to fight the police.”
McLaughlin added that “assaulting and obstructing law enforcement is a crime.”
“Despite these serious threats and dangerous situations, the law enforcement officers followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public and the property of the state,” he said.
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Federal immigration officers confronted protesters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 15, 2026. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Under the ruling, federal agents can’t use pepper-spray or other non-lethal weapons and crowd-dispersal tools against peaceful protesters, state governments say.
Additionally, Mendez wrote that safely following officers “at a reasonable distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a traffic stop.”
The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in December on behalf of six Minnesota activists, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, who claimed federal officials violated the constitutional rights of Twin City residents.
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Federal agents deal with rioters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 14, 2026. (Jamie Vera/Fox News)
State attorneys say the officers were acting within their legal authority and justified the violence as they enforced immigration laws across the state and in Minnesota.
The ongoing unrest in Minneapolis comes after two recent shootings involving ICE agents in the city.
Good died on Jan. 7 after an ICE agent shot into his car through the driver’s side window with the window open after allegedly trying to run him over. He could be heard in the video later saying “f—ing b—h” when his car crashed into a parked car.
While Democrats and local residents denounced the shooting as murder and called for the agent to be prosecuted, the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers defended the incident, saying it was a justified shooting.
Members of law enforcement work at the scene following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent during a federal operation on Jan. 7, 2026, Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
On Wednesday, an ICE officer was seriously injured after three illegal immigrants were stopped during a traffic stop targeting a Venezuelan national, according to federal officials. One suspect was shot, and all three were taken into custody after the traffic stop escalated into a foot chase and a violent struggle, authorities said.
Mendez is overseeing a separate lawsuit filed Monday by the state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Louis. Paul wants to stop the law enforcement campaign.
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The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Sophia Compton of Fox News Digital and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
