Tincher v. Mullin

Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

Date Filed: April 13, 2026

Background: In December 2025, a group of community members in Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that the federal government violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights by using arrest and indiscriminate force against protesters and observers of federal immigration enforcement operations in the state.

The plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction barring federal agents from engaging in such unconstitutional conduct, including the improper use of chemical irritants, rubber bullets, and other crowd-control tactics. 

The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota largely granted the preliminary injunction. After the government announced the conclusion of “Operation Metro Surge” in February, the preliminary injunction was dissolved, and the government filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit entirely. The plaintiffs opposed. 

Our Position: The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a friend-of-the-court brief joined by 23 news and media organizations urging the district court to deny the government’s motion and allow the lawsuit to proceed. 

• The First Amendment protects the right to observe and report the news.

• Reporting on protest activity and police response can be dangerous, and the excessive or indiscriminate use of force against journalists can chill news reporting on matters of public concern.

From the brief: “When the government unleashes crowd-control tactics and tools indiscriminately on persons observing police conduct in public spaces, who are not participating in any violent unrest, such steps can have an extraordinary chilling effect on constitutionally protected newsgathering and, consequently, on the public’s access to reporting on matters of public concern.”