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A Minnesota state judge issued a ruling Friday barring federal officers from detaining or deploying tear gas against peaceful protesters who do not obstruct authorities while participating in Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis.
The order by U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez restricting the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and federal agents comes amid ongoing protests and heightened tension in Minneapolis after an ICE agent shot Renee Judd, a Minnesota resident, earlier this month.
The ruling prohibits officers from retaliating against anyone who peacefully protests or observes the actions of immigration officers, adding that federal agents must show probable cause or reasonable suspicion that someone has committed a crime or is interfering with law enforcement operations.
The First Amendment does not protect “riots,” Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Tricia McLaughlin said after the ruling, adding that DHS “is taking appropriate and constitutional actions to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters.”
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Law enforcement officers stand amidst tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Adam Gray/AP Photo)
“We remind the public that rioting is a serious matter, that obstructing law enforcement is a federal crime and assaulting law enforcement is a felony,” McLaughlin said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Rioters and terrorists have assaulted law enforcement, set off fireworks at them, slashed their tires, and vandalized federal property. Others have chosen to ignore orders, attempted to impede law enforcement operations, and used their vehicles as weapons against our officers.”
“Assaulting and obstructing law enforcement is a felony,” McLaughlin added.
“Despite these serious threats and dangerous situations, law enforcement followed their training and used the minimum force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property,” she added.
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Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 15, 2026. (Mustafa Basem/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Under the ruling, federal agents may not use pepper spray or other non-lethal munitions and crowd dispersal tools against peaceful protesters, the ruling said.
In addition, Menendez wrote, safely following officers “at an appropriate distance does not by itself create reasonable doubt to justify a vehicle stop.”
The ruling stems from a case filed in December on behalf of six Minnesota activists, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, who said government officials were violating the constitutional rights of Twin Cities residents.
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Federal agents deal with rioters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 14, 2026. (Jimmy Vera/Fox News)
Government lawyers said the officers were acting within their legal authority and appropriately in response to violence as they enforced immigration laws across the country and in Minnesota.
The ongoing unrest in Minneapolis comes after two recent shootings of ICE agents in the city.
Judd died on January 7 after an ICE agent shot into her car through the driver’s side windshield and opened the window after she tried to run him over. He can be heard in the video after the incident saying “f—ing b—h” when her car crashed into a parked car.
While Democrats and local residents condemned the shooting as a murder and called for the agent to be prosecuted, the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers defended the incident, arguing that it was a justified shooting.
Law enforcement members work the scene after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent during federal operations on January 7, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturin/Getty Images)
Then, on Wednesday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer was seriously injured after being ambushed by three illegal immigrants 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 stop escalated into a foot chase and violent struggle, authorities said.
Menendez is leading a separate lawsuit filed Monday by the state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul seeking to suspend the crackdown.
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The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Sophia Compton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.