U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are detaining and arresting legal observers who follow them during immigration operations. U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez had issued an injunction preventing federal agents from stopping vehicles following them, but the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked that ruling shortly after.
Legal experts clarified that while citizens can record police in public, the term “legal observer” does not provide special protection from obstruction claims.
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Thousands of activists across the U.S. have recently been detained for violating U.S. Code Title 18, Section 111. It applies to anyone who “forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates, or interferes” with a federal officer conducting official duties and can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony.
A review from Reuters found the Trump administration prosecuted more than 650 people using that code during local immigration crackdowns since last summer.
ICE officials told Reuters that there is a government database containing names, photos, actions that provoked suspicion, locations, and license plate information that could be used to charge people under Title 18 in the future.
