Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and others cannot use "crowd dispersal tools" against nonviolent protesters while enforcing federal immigration laws, a federal judge ruled on Friday.
U.S. District Court of Minnesota Judge Katherine Menendez said ICE officers cannot use tear gas, pepper spray and other commonly used devices to disperse protesters who are "engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity," The New York Times reported.
Such activities are protected forms of free speech, Menendez said, while also prohibiting federal law enforcement from engaging in traffic stops of vehicles and detaining drivers and passengers who are not "forcibly obstructing or interfering" in federal law enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security "is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters," DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
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