A federal appeals court issued a temporary stay Wednesday of a lower court ruling that had ordered federal officers to limit their use of pepper spray on observers and protesters who have been hounding ICE in Minnesota.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put a hold on the ruling while it more fully considers the matter.
The order came from the court’s clerk, who said it came “at the direction of the court.”
U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez, a Biden appointee to the court in Minnesota, issued the injunction last week, finding that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and other federal personnel have been too harsh in dealing with protesters and observers.
In particular, she said, it appeared ICE officers sometimes blasted protesters with pepper spray when the demonstrators were doing nothing other than exercising First Amendment rights.
She ordered the government to curtail pepper-spraying. She also barred them from taking action against people using their vehicles to trail ICE officers.
The Justice Department asked the appeals court to put her ruling on hold while the case develops.
Brenna Scully, a government lawyer, said the judge’s limits were overly broad and unworkable.
“Every traffic stop, use of ’crowd dispersal tools’ (an undefined term), and arrest are now subject to contempt proceedings if DHS officers make a reasonable but incorrect determination,” she said.
She said other appeals courts also allowed crowd control in Illinois and California.
