{"id":334899,"date":"2026-01-17T10:20:48","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T15:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/?post_type=to4_article_post&#038;p=334899"},"modified":"2026-01-17T10:20:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T15:20:52","slug":"federal-judge-orders-ice-to-stop-retaliating-against-minnesota-demonstrators","status":"publish","type":"to4_article_post","link":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/federal-judge-orders-ice-to-stop-retaliating-against-minnesota-demonstrators\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal Judge Orders ICE to Stop Retaliating Against Minnesota Demonstrators"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"truth-post-content-before\" id=\"truth-218979755\"><div class=\"popmake-campaign-banners-donate-modal callout callout inline-callout mb-5 callout--text callout--text\" id=\"truth-304025\" data-callout-id=\"304025\" data-callout-theme=\"text\" data-callout-placement=\"Undefined\" data-callout-title=\"BCB 304025 Truthout is an indispensable resource...\"><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Truthout is an indispensable resource for activists, movement leaders and workers everywhere. Please make this work possible with a <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/support.truthout.org\/-\/XXQLBDSX\/&amp;utm_source=truthout&amp;utm_medium=bcb&amp;utm_campaign=304025\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">quick donation<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>A federal judge gave a significant victory to Minnesota protesters and observers of federal officers Friday, <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.mnd.229758\/gov.uscourts.mnd.229758.85.0_1.pdf\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">granting a preliminary injunction<\/a> preventing the officers from retaliating against demonstrators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ruling by U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez prevents the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from arresting or detaining people who are engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest including observing Operation Metro Surge, which is the feds\u2019 name for the incursion of 3,000 immigration officers and agents here. The <em>Reformer<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/minnesotareformer.com\/2026\/01\/13\/in-the-car-with-minneapolis-community-patrols\/\">talked to a protester<\/a> who was detained for hours on Sunday and never charged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The federal agents can no longer use pepper spray or other nonlethal munitions against people engaged in peaceful protest. They cannot stop or detain drivers where there is no \u201creasonable, articulable suspicion\u201d that they are interfering.<\/p><div class=\"truth-post-content-high\" id=\"truth-3741265699\"><div class=\"callout inline-callout p-4 mb-5 callout--subscribe callout--dark\" id=\"truth-255395\" data-callout-id=\"255395\" data-callout-theme=\"dark\" data-callout-placement=\"Post Content - High\" data-callout-title=\"Uncompromised, uncompromising news\"><h2>Uncompromised, uncompromising news<\/h2>\n<p>Get reliable, independent news and commentary delivered to your inbox every day.<\/p>\n<script>\nvar gform;gform||(document.addEventListener(\"gform_main_scripts_loaded\",function(){gform.scriptsLoaded=!0}),document.addEventListener(\"gform\/theme\/scripts_loaded\",function(){gform.themeScriptsLoaded=!0}),window.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){gform.domLoaded=!0}),gform={domLoaded:!1,scriptsLoaded:!1,themeScriptsLoaded:!1,isFormEditor:()=>\"function\"==typeof 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\"gform_wrapper_1\" );        if ( gformWrapperDiv ) {            const visibilitySpan = document.createElement( \"span\" );            visibilitySpan.id = \"gform_visibility_test_1\";            gformWrapperDiv.insertAdjacentElement( \"afterend\", visibilitySpan );        }        const visibilityTestDiv = document.getElementById( \"gform_visibility_test_1\" );        let postRenderFired = false;        function triggerPostRender() {            if ( postRenderFired ) {                return;            }            postRenderFired = true;            gform.core.triggerPostRenderEvents( 1, current_page );            if ( visibilityTestDiv ) {                visibilityTestDiv.parentNode.removeChild( visibilityTestDiv );            }        }        function debounce( func, wait, immediate ) {            var timeout;            return function() {                var context = this, args = arguments;                var later = function() {                    timeout = null;                 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true,                attributeFilter: [ 'style', 'class' ],            });        } else {            triggerPostRender();        }    } );} );\n<\/script>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>ICE observers are <a href=\"https:\/\/minnesotareformer.com\/2026\/01\/13\/in-the-car-with-minneapolis-community-patrols\/\">frequently following cars<\/a> they suspect are being driven by federal officers, tracking them, entering vehicle descriptions into a database and discouraging them from making immigrant arrests. The judge declared this legal and a protected activity: \u201cThe act of safely following (federal agents) at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ruling comes out of a December lawsuit filed by six plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The six named plaintiffs were all observing ICE last year as the agency <a href=\"https:\/\/minnesotareformer.com\/2025\/12\/02\/report-ice-headed-to-twin-cities-targeting-somali-immigrants\/\">ramped up raids in Minnesota<\/a>, especially in the state\u2019s large Somali community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Susan Tincher, one of the named plaintiffs, pulled up to the scene of a reported ICE raid in north Minneapolis on Dec. 9 and exited her car. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu-mn.org\/cases\/tincher-v-noem\/?document=Tincher-v-Noem-et-al-\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">According to the lawsuit<\/a>, she stood on the sidewalk six feet away from the nearest officer and asked the agents on the scene if they were ICE. The officers moved towards her, ordered her to \u201cget back,\u201d then pulled her to the ground. Officers handcuffed Tincher while she was face-down in the snow, according to video of the event reviewed by the <em>Reformer. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI was genuinely afraid I was being kidnapped,\u201d Tincher said at a press conference last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The agents took Tincher to the Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling; shackled her legs; cut off her wedding ring, bra and boot laces; and held her in a cell for five hours before releasing her.<\/p>\n<div class=\"truth-post-content-after\" id=\"truth-605324316\"><div class=\"callout inline-callout p-4 mb-5 callout-- callout--white\" id=\"truth-334871\" data-callout-id=\"334871\" data-callout-theme=\"white\" data-callout-placement=\"Post Content - After\" data-callout-title=\"2026-01 Main Campaign (FRU) Trump is silencing political dissent. We appeal for your support.\">\n<div class=\"p-2 text-start\">\n<h5 class=\"pb-2\" style=\"text-transform: uppercase; font-family: var(--bs-font-sans-serif); text-align: center;\">Trump is silencing political dissent. We appeal for your support.<\/h5>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Progressive nonprofits are the latest target caught in Trump\u2019s crosshairs. With the aim of eliminating political opposition, Trump and his sycophants are working to curb government funding, constrain private foundations, and even cut tax-exempt status from organizations he dislikes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>We\u2019re concerned, because Truthout is not immune to such bad-faith attacks.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can only resist Trump\u2019s attacks by cultivating a strong base of support. The right-wing mediasphere is funded comfortably by billionaire owners and venture capitalist philanthropists. At Truthout, we have you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Truthout has launched a fundraiser to raise $45,000 in the next 8 days. <\/strong>Please take a meaningful action in the fight against authoritarianism: make a one-time or monthly donation to Truthout. If you have the means, please dig deep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"m-0\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"#XEGQPXGY\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The ruling comes out of a December lawsuit filed by six plaintiffs who were all observing ICE\u2019s ramped-up raids.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":334900,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[91698],"tags":[1064,3969,3951,183580],"section":[44,29],"primary_topic":[35],"series":[],"admin_tag":[],"class_list":["post-334899","to4_article_post","type-to4_article_post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ice","tag-minneapolis","tag-minnesota","tag-protests","section-politics-and-elections","section-prisons-and-policing","primary_topic-politics"],"acf":[],"related_articles":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/to4_article_post\/334899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/to4_article_post"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/to4_article_post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334899"},{"taxonomy":"section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section?post=334899"},{"taxonomy":"primary_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/primary_topic?post=334899"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=334899"},{"taxonomy":"admin_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/admin_tag?post=334899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}