Court: Feds Can Detain, Tear-Gas Peaceful Protesters
Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
UPDATE: Jan. 21, 2026, 7:30 p.m. CST
A federal appeals court on Wednesday temporarily halted a ruling that would have restricted federal officers in Minnesota from using tear gas or pepper spray against peaceful protesters.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to pause a decision issued by a federal judge while the government moves forward with an appeal. The lower court ruling barred federal agents from retaliating against members of the public, including stopping or detaining people who follow officers in their vehicles, as long as they are not interfering with enforcement activities.
Shortly after the appeals court issued the stay, U.S. Border Patrol official Greg Bovino — who has overseen the Trump administration’s large-scale immigration enforcement efforts in major cities — was recorded on video repeatedly warning demonstrators on a snow-covered Minneapolis street that “Gas is coming!” Moments later, he threw a canister into the crowd that released green smoke.
Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez ruled that federal officers involved in the largest recent immigration enforcement operation in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area could not detain or use chemical agents against peaceful protesters who were not obstructing law enforcement, even if those individuals were observing or documenting agent activity. Her ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed in December on behalf of six Minnesota activists.
The plaintiffs are among thousands of residents who have been monitoring the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol officers since the Trump administration intensified immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities last month.
Tensions between federal agents and demonstrators have repeatedly flared since the crackdown began. Confrontations escalated after an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good on Jan. 7 as she drove away from an encounter in Minneapolis. The incident was captured on video from multiple angles. Since then, agents have arrested or briefly detained numerous individuals in the area.
The six activists are represented by the ACLU of Minnesota, which argues that federal officers have violated the constitutional rights of Twin Cities residents. Following the court ruling, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the agency is taking “appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters.”
McLaughlin said officers have faced assaults, vehicle vandalism, and attempts to interfere with enforcement operations. “We remind the public that rioting is dangerous — obstructing law enforcement is a federal crime and assaulting law enforcement is a felony,” she said.
The ACLU did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Judge Menendez’s ruling prohibits officers from detaining people in vehicles without reasonable suspicion that they are obstructing or interfering with law enforcement. “Safely following agents at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop,” the ruling states. It also bars arrests without probable cause or reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed.
Menendez is also overseeing a separate lawsuit filed Monday by the state of Minnesota, along with the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, seeking to halt the federal immigration enforcement operation altogether.
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