A federal judge on Friday barred federal agents in Minneapolis from arresting peaceful protesters, or using nonlethal munitions and crowd control tools against them.

The 80-page ruling by U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez, a Biden appointee who sits in Minneapolis, lands amid an increasingly confrontational dynamic between the Trump administration and Minnesota officials who have accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of stoking fear and violence on local streets. And it comes a week after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good.

Menendez’s order bars Homeland Security and ICE officials involved in Operation Metro Surge from “using pepper-spray or similar nonlethal munitions and crowd dispersal tools against persons who are engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity.” The judge also prohibited federal agents from stopping vehicles following them, as long as those vehicles are maintaining a safe and “appropriate” distance.

“The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly — not rioting,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters. We remind the public that rioting is dangerous — obstructing law enforcement is a federal crime and assaulting law enforcement is a felony.”

In a statement, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said: “This absurd ruling embraces a dishonest, left-wing narrative. Here’s the truth: federal agents have acted lawfully to protect themselves and ensure the integrity of their operations when individuals attempt to intervene. The Trump Administration will always enforce the law.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the Trump administration may seek to immediately appeal the decision. It has recently surged more than 2,000 Homeland Security officials in Minnesota to conduct deportation operations and pursue claims of fraud by members of Minneapolis’ prominent Somali community.

“There is no sign that this operation is winding down — indeed, it appears to still be ramping up,” Menendez wrote.

Amid the ramp-up, the Justice Department has also begun scrutinizing two of Trump’s most vocal critics in Minnesota — Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey — for potentially obstructing immigration agents.

Federal prosecutors sent grand jury subpoenas to Walz and Frey on Friday seeking information about alleged obstruction, according to a person briefed on the inquiry who was granted anonymity due to the ongoing nature of the investigation. The probe is exploring potential violations of a federal law, 18 U.S.C. 372, that outlaws conspiracies to impede or injure federal officers, the person said.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the investigation.

The move against two prominent Democrats, including one who ran on the Democratic ticket against Trump in 2024, is the latest escalation In the Trump Justice Department’s bid to punish the president’s political adversaries.

“Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic,” Walz said Friday night on X. “The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.

Menendez’ decision Friday came in response to an emergency request from protesters who sued ICE in December, claiming that their actions have repeatedly been met with unconstitutional arrests and violence. The protesters last week cited Good’s death to push Menendez to expedite her decision.

The judge found that the protesters observed and criticized ICE officers, but “did not forcibly obstruct or impede the agents’ work,” and were otherwise non-violent and non-threatening.

Local leaders have called for ICE to leave the state, accusing agents of sowing fear and threats to public safety. Frey urged ICE to “get the fuck out” of his city.

Menendez’ ruling follows similar orders in Los Angeles and Chicago, where federal judges ruled that tactics aimed at protesters and journalists violated the First Amendment.

“Peaceful observers and protesters turned out again today, they will turn out again tomorrow, and they will continue turning out every day until Operation Metro Surge is over,” the residents who sought the restraining order wrote in a letter to the judge last week. “These Minnesotans who are peacefully exercising their core constitutional rights to speak and gather continue to be met with unconstitutional and terrifying violence … And things appear to be getting worse, not better.” (Politico)

•Federal immigration officers shoot pepper balls as tear gas is deployed at the scene of a reported shooting, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. | John Locher/AP

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