President Donald Trump’s administration has appealed a federal court order that protects protesters in Minneapolis from some of the most controversial and heavy-handed crackdown tactics being used by federal agents.
The motion, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, notifies the judge that the administration will seek relief from the Eighth Circuit, an appellate division almost entirely consisting of Republican-appointed jurists.
The original order came down on Friday, in response to legal action filed by the state of Minnesota, as protests continued to escalate over Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s presence in the city, and as federal agents have killed or seriously injured people in multiple incidents.
U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, ruled federal agents are prohibited from “Retaliating against persons who are engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity, including observing the activities of Operation Metro Surge,” from “Arresting or detaining persons who are engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity,” or from using “pepper-spray or similar nonlethal munitions and crowd dispersal tools” on peaceful protesters.
She also barred agents from “stopping or detaining drivers and passengers in vehicles where there is no reasonable articulable suspicion that they are forcibly obstructing or interfering with Covered Federal Agents” — a highly relevant issue after a federal agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good as she was attempting to drive around several agents trying to box her in.
Ironically, that ruling came just a day after Trump praised Menendez for delaying her ruling to give the Justice Department time to respond, proclaiming she was a “highly respected judge” on his Truth Social platform and incorrectly stating she had “declined to block ICE operations.”
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