In a significant victory for the Trump Administration, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit lifted the injunction of U.S. District Judge Katherin Menendez, who prevented officers from arresting, detaining, pepper-spraying or retaliating against protesters in Minneapolis without probable cause.
In her Jan. 16 decision, Judge Menendez (a Biden appointee and former public defender) ruled in favor of the protesters suing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE. She found the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on claims that federal agents violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights.
The Eighth Circuit first flagged how Menendez ignored the fact that the record shows a wide range of conduct raising different conditions for law enforcement:
“We accessed and viewed the same videos the district court did. … What they show is observers and protestors 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. Even the named plaintiffs’ claims involve different conduct, by different officers, at different times, in different places, in response to different behavior. These differences mean that there are no “questions of law or fact common to the class,” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(2), that would allow the court to decide all their claims in “one stroke.”
The panel also found Judge Menendez’s order unacceptably vague:
“Second, in addition to being too broad, the injunction is too vague.
…Even the provision that singles out the use of “pepper-spray or similar nonlethal munitions and crowd dispersal tools” requires federal agents to predict what the district court would consider “peaceful and unobstructive protest activity.” The videos underscore how difficult it would be for them to decide who has crossed the line: they show a fast-changing mix of peaceful and obstructive conduct, with many protestors getting in officers’ faces and blocking their vehicles as they conduct their activities, only for some of them to then rejoin the crowd and intermix with others who were merely recording and observing the scene.”
The panel found that Judge Menendez’s order left federal authorities in a dangerous position of not knowing when they could use these crowd control measures: “to the extent the injunction’s breadth and vagueness cause federal agents to hesitate in performing their lawful duties, it threatens to irreparably harm the government and undermine the public interest.”
Notably, Judge Menendez is the same judge reviewing an even more sweeping motion for an injunction to enjoin ICE operations, a filing from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison that I have criticized as constitutionally meritless.
Here is the opinion: Tincher v. Noem
Yet their phony legal ploy worked, as it obfuscated the reality in the public eye that ICE did wrong, further eroding the public perception of law and order. Score another victory for the leftist Neo-Marxist and their chances to pounce in the midterms.
Leftwing radicals in robes are no less dangerous than the violent mobs they support from the bench. After a lifetime appointment, they act like little gods, ruling based on feelings and a burning hatred of Trump, rather than the Constitution. There is no hope for fair treatment in courtrooms ruled by leftwing fascist judges pretending to be impartial. Stalin had judges. Hitler had judges. Mao had judges. Ho had judges. Castro had judges. This is no different.
Republicans have judges.
And there’s always the SCOTUS.
So quit whining.
Where is Congress? They are nothing but a potted plant. And yet we keep re-electing 85% of the same do-nothings.
That is more likely to change in the midterms. A record number of Republicans are retiring. Democrats stand a very good chance of taking back the House. With the growing failure of Trump’s immigration crackdown and Noem and Bovino being ousted because of their blatant lying, it is just making it harder for Republicans to hold the House.
The question is: where is congress and George comes up with a tangential response. Amazing how senility scrambles brains. Or what’s left of it.
Yet we keep re-electing them…
Do you think it might be kind of rigged?
Rigged? Got proof?
Congress has effectively been neutered for over a decade now. And it will remain neutered as long as Thune is in the top leadership role. The 60-vote rule was originally designed to force compromise. But ever since Obama “fundamentally transformed” all politicians into tribal corners, compromise is no longer possible. Hence complete dysfunction. Gee thanks, Barry and Johnny.
Vague? It seems the eighth circuit is more vague than judge Menendez. ICE or CBP officers are not confused about what they can use to disperse or push back on protesters. They have already been shown to be overly aggressive and at times just attacking those merely standing there filming.
Everyone knows DHS has been lying to judges and the public for a while. Their lying has become so bad even Trump is trying to distance himself from it and removed Bovino and Noem from the Minnesota operations. What is even more surprising (not) is Turley completely ignoring it because it does not fit the Trump administration narrative including the outright lying about what happened the Pretti’s and Good’s killings.
Fox News and WSJ both called out the outright lies peddled by Noem and Bovino. It’s been so blatant and obvious that even Fox News and WSJ don’t buy the narratives Trump administration officials have been putting out. It’s really that bad. So bad that Trump is distancing himself from it and appears to be ready to throw Noem and Bovino under the bus to avoid the increasing fallout.
This case is not a real victory for Trump. Clearly DHS is reconsidering their over-aggressive tactics and fact that they have to lie through their teeth to justify the excesses when everyone clearly sees they are not doing “targeted enforcements”. They are acting like thugs with full immunity on anything they are doing including murder. That is why there are protests and constant harassment of ICE and CBP officials.
Pam Bondi made matters even worse by literally issuing a ransom. ICE leaves if Minnesota gives them their voter rolls. Really?
Crazy george is here.
Hi buddy! Ready for a brand new day?
You go dude. Make sure to change your adult diapers before engaging.
Bondi never “ issued a ransom.” Stop lying
It’s time to stop calling them “protesters” and start calling them REVOLUTIONARIES.
To be fair, historically it only takes about 20% critical mass to lead protesters who are otherwise not true believers in the revolution, but who willingly follow along for various reasons, from pure entertainment to single issue grievances.
But no one should doubt that the revolution has already begun: violently in places such as Portland and Minneapolis, and peacefully at the ballot box in places such as New York City.
The sooner we all agree that we are being confronted with a revolution, The sooner our collective responses will be appropriate and effective.
Especially the response of the administration and eventually, SCOTUS
To anyone who doubts my classification of the movement, perhaps you don’t have the advantage of having lived through the ’60s and ’70s and experienced the revolutionary underpinnings of the anti-war movement
There are similarities and differences. I attended a huge Stop the War rally in DC. Yes, some of the organizers held revolutionary ideation. But, nobody was paid to attend, and the most militant acts I saw were protestors throwing tear gas canisters back in the direction they came from. They thing we were trying to stop was 10K miles away, so there couldn’t be direct action to impede it. We didn’t have the internet.
In Minneapolis, the radicals are holding classes, teaching how to harass and impede ICE patrols during their work. Their goal is complete cessation of immigration enforcement action by the Feds in Minnesota. Militant activities are focussed on personally threatening and intimdating individual ICE officers by photographing them, identifying them, doxxing them, harassing them at their hotels, anywhere they go in public whether on-duty or off. The are professionally paid organizers behind the street and internet activities. That’s mainly what is different.
The organizers whose goal is to intimidate and impede federal law enforcement should be infiltrated and arrested by the FBI. Follow the money.
Pbinca,
In Minneapolis, radicals are conducting classes on how to legally obstruct ICE patrols during their operations.
You forgot to mention that they are instructed on how to do this within the bounds of the law. ICE bears the responsibility for their own issues; their aggressive tactics and blatant dishonesty have only made the situation worse. For example, when DHS secretly issues a memo instructing agents to forcibly enter homes without warrants and target individuals based solely on skin color or accent, violating the 4th Amendment rights, it understandably provokes public anger, protests, and resistance.
Currently, the Trump administration is rethinking its harsh immigration enforcement strategies by removing Bovino and Noem, who have failed to effectively control the narrative and the situation. When it becomes evident that they are lying openly to the public and even to judges—resulting in significant backlash—Trump may start scapegoating others to avoid blame. This situation has become so toxic that even Trump himself has acknowledged it.
George dude, tell us how you saved the world last week?
Their goal is complete cessation of immigration enforcement action by the Feds in Minnesota. Militant activities are focussed on personally threatening and intimdating individual ICE officers by photographing them, identifying them, doxxing them, harassing them at hotels, anywhere they go in public whether on-duty or off.
Pbinca, you’re missing the point. If ICE or CBP were less aggressive—sticking to the law, using common sense during their “targeted enforcement,” and avoiding attacks on people exercising their rights—these protests would probably be less frequent, and the pushback wouldn’t be so intense.
ICE’s own tactics, along with blatant violations of constitutional rights, poor training, and inadequate vetting of agents, have only made things worse for themselves. The pressure is coming from the top, particularly Stephen Miller, who aims for 3,000 arrests a day to deport millions within Trump’s term—requiring him to skirt or break laws to meet these aggressive targets. He’s willing to bend or break the law to achieve his goals, not realizing that people are noticing when things go off the rails. Aggressive, poorly trained agents only make the situation worse for Miller and Trump.
It’s now clear their immigration policies are becoming so toxic and unpopular that they can’t sustain them much longer in their current form. Warrantless home entries, detaining immigrants who are doing everything legally to stay, denying due process to deportees, arresting students for criticizing Israel—these are hallmarks of authoritarian regimes, used when laws stand in the way of their desire for control. They either ignore the law or twist it to their advantage. But what they don’t count on is that people are paying attention and pushing back.
So you think having lived in the 60’s and 70’s makes you some sort of hero? So 50 years later you get it and found a platform to expound your insights?
Folks, the fossils on this blog share one thing … senility. Legends in their own minds.
No, we who lived in the 60’s and 70’s know the vast majority of American citizens were reasonable and rational back then unlike today. Leaders of both parties understood the dangers of the revolutionary movement even the media.
Understood huh? And you led the charge? So why don’t you go to MN and kick some butt.
You oldies talk a game, but when it comes down to action, you bury your heads into a blog.
Anon
Says the fledgling little Revolutionary heh? If you had any sense you would know that people that have lived their lives through tumultuous and dangerous times gain wisdom. Wisdom comes from living and surviving through difficult and often deadly circumstances. What’s happening now by these Antifa morons is pale in comparison to the Weather Underground, the SLA, the Black Panthers. They bombed, murdered, robbed banks and created sheer acts of terrorism. At the same time American men were being sent to fight Communists in SE Asia, it was a meat grinder. You went whether you wanted to or not, or you took the cowards path to Canada.
So you should probably sit down and listen, you might actually learn something from some senile old men that survived.
Revolutionary? Thank you. Yeah, you go dude. You geriatrics are laughable.
Laugh away Skippy
Listen, you brought up the subject, and you’re offended when you get criticized.
Laugh? Not all, just it sad to see you geriatrics talk BS 24/7/365 when you should load up and head to MN.
In your world there are no ice cubes because the gummer who knew the recipe died.
Mike
In your world you will never know the love of a woman because some judge couldn’t define one for you.
Gordy, I have to disagree a bit here.This isn’t a revolution in the American sense. A revolution is justified only when government abandons first principles and lawful remedies are exhausted.
What we’re seeing now is a rebellion. The complaint isn’t that the law is unjustly applied. It’s that the law is being applied at all. The demand is not for due process, but for exemption.
The Founders drew a hard line between resisting tyranny and resisting lawful authority. One defends liberty. The other destroys it.
A movement that tries to delegitimize enforcement of the law doesn’t stand in the tradition of 1776. It stands against it.
Deport Menendez
The Zips are in the wire
MAGA nificent!