Six Minnesotans sued — after ICE and other federal agents retaliated against them for peacefully observing and recording law enforcement — seeking to protect their First Amendment rights. CLC and co-counsel filed an amicus brief urging the court to hold federal agencies to the same constitutional standards as other law enforcement officials.
Back to topFree speech is at the heart of what it means to be an American. When the federal government tries to limit speech or retaliate against individuals who are lawfully making their voices heard, it sets a dangerous precedent.
Actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal law enforcement agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
The First Amendment guarantees every American’s right to free speech and peaceful protest. However, recent actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal law enforcement agents in Minnesota to quash dissent and retaliate against civilians for exercising these rights threaten the very foundation of the First Amendment.
Six plaintiffs whose constitutional rights were violated by ICE and other federal law enforcement agents in Minneapolis filed a lawsuit to protect the constitutional rights of Minnesotans who film and observe ICE and other federal agents.
In Minnesota, ICE and other federal agents have violently retaliated against and arrested peaceful observers and protestors who are exercising their constitutional rights. The ACLU’s lawsuit asks the court to halt ICE’s attack on First and Fourth Amendment rights.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) filed an amicus brief in this lawsuit on behalf of 39 former career civil servants who worked in the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to offer their unique professional perspectives.
The Special Litigation Section has primary responsibility for eliminating patterns or practices of illegal conduct by law enforcement agencies, including violations of First Amendment rights of protesters and observers. Many of the individuals on this brief have served in the Special Litigation Section under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
CLC and ICAP argue that ICE and other federal agents have engaged in the same types of conduct in Minnesota that DOJ has found to be unconstitutional First Amendment policing in prior investigations. We call on the court to hold federal law enforcement agencies accountable for clear First Amendment violations and ensure federal law enforcement agencies are subject to the same constitutional standards as any other law enforcement agency.
President Trump’s deployment of federal agents to enforce his immigration policies does not grant federal agents the authority to undermine the First Amendment. Allowing federal agents to act outside the bounds of the Constitution sets a dangerous precedent that diminishes First Amendment rights.
