Federal judge restricts ICE agents amid ongoing Minneapolis area protests

A Minnesota justice issued a ruling Friday barring national officers from detaining oregon deploying teardrop state against peaceful protesters who are not obstructing authorities portion participating successful Operation Metro Surge successful Minneapolis.

The bid from U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez restricting the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and national agents comes amid ongoing protests and heightened hostility successful Minneapolis aft an ICE cause fatally changeable Minnesota nonmigratory Renee Good earlier this month.

The ruling prohibits officers from retaliating against anyone peacefully protesting oregon observing the actions of migration officers, adding that national agents indispensable amusement probable origin oregon tenable suspicion that idiosyncratic has committed a transgression oregon is interfering with instrumentality enforcement operations.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said pursuing the ruling that the First Amendment does not support "rioting," adding that DHS is "taking due and law measures to uphold the regularisation of instrumentality and support our officers and the nationalist from unsafe rioters."

ILLEGAL ALIEN WITH 24 CONVICTIONS AMONG ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ARRESTED IN MINNESOTA ICE OPERATION: DHS

Law enforcement officers basal amid teardrop state astatine the country of a reported shooting connected Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, successful Minneapolis.  (Adam Gray/AP Photo)

"We punctual the nationalist that rioting is dangerous—obstructing instrumentality enforcement is simply a national transgression and assaulting instrumentality enforcement is simply a felony," McLaughlin said successful a connection to Fox News Digital. "Rioters and terrorists person assaulted instrumentality enforcement, launched fireworks astatine them, slashed the tires of their vehicles, and vandalized national property. Others person chosen to disregard commands and person attempted to impede instrumentality enforcement operations and utilized their vehicles arsenic weapons against our officers."

McLaughlin added that "assaulting and obstructing instrumentality enforcement is simply a felony." 

"Despite these sedate threats and unsafe situations, our instrumentality enforcement has followed their grooming and utilized the minimum magnitude of unit indispensable to support themselves, the public, and national property," she stated.

MINNESOTA ANTI-ICE AGITATORS SWARM, CONFRONT FEDERAL AGENTS DURING ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS

Federal migration officers face protesters extracurricular Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building successful Minneapolis, Minnesota, connected Jan. 15, 2026.  (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Under the ruling, national agents cannot usage pepper-spray oregon different non-lethal munitions and assemblage dispersal tools against peaceful protesters, the ruling states.

Additionally, Menendez wrote that safely pursuing officers "at an due region does not, by itself, make tenable suspicion to warrant a conveyance stop."

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed successful December connected behalf of six Minnesota activists, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, who argued that authorities officers were violating the law rights of Twin City residents.

OMAR, MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR ACCUSE TRUMP ADMIN OF UNLEASHING 'POLITICAL RETRIBUTION,' 'INVASION' WITH ICE ACTIVITY

Federal agents woody with agitators extracurricular the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building successful Minneapolis, Minnesota, connected Jan. 14, 2026. (Jamie Vera/Fox News)

Government attorneys said officers were acting wrong their ineligible authorization and appropriately to unit arsenic they've enforced migration laws crossed the state and successful Minnesota.

The ongoing unrest successful Minneapolis comes aft 2 caller shootings involving ICE agents successful the city.

Good died connected Jan. 7 aft an ICE cause changeable into her conveyance done the driver's broadside windshield and unfastened model aft she allegedly attempted to tally him over. He could beryllium heard connected video aft the information saying "f---ing b---h" arsenic her car crashed into a parked car.

While Democrats and section residents person condemned the shooting arsenic a execution and called for the agent's prosecution, the Trump medication and Republican lawmakers person defended the incident, arguing it was a justified shooting.

Members of instrumentality enforcement enactment the country pursuing the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an ICE cause during national operations connected Jan. 7, 2026, successful Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Then, successful a abstracted incidental Wednesday, an ICE serviceman was earnestly injured aft allegedly being ambushed during a postulation halt by 3 amerciable immigrants, according to national officials. One fishy was shot, and each 3 were taken into custody, authorities said, aft a postulation halt targeting a Venezuelan nationalist escalated into a ft pursuit and convulsive struggle.

Menendez is presiding implicit a abstracted suit filed Monday by the authorities of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul seeking to suspend the enforcement crackdown.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota did not instantly respond to Fox News Digital's petition for comment.

Fox News Digital's Sophia Compton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.