The Trump administration won a significant legal victory Monday after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit overturned a lower court ruling that had restricted how federal immigration agents could respond to anti-ICE protests in Minnesota, as reported by Fox News.
In a decision issued by a three-judge panel, the Eighth Circuit granted a full stay of a prior injunction that limited the ability of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to arrest, detain, pepper-spray, or otherwise respond to protesters in Minneapolis without probable cause.
The ruling allows ICE agents to continue enforcement operations without the protest-specific constraints imposed earlier this month.
The appeals court reviewed video evidence that had also been examined by the lower court and reached a different conclusion about the conduct of protesters.
“We accessed and viewed the same videos the district court did,” the panel wrote.
“What they show is observers and protesters engaging in a wide range of conduct, some of it peaceful but much of it not. They also show federal agents responding in various ways.”
The case stems from a lawsuit filed by six protesters who alleged that federal authorities violated their civil rights while carrying out immigration enforcement operations in the Twin Cities area.
Hellbound and Down 