Four Memphis residents have initiated legal action against U.S. and Tennessee officials, claiming they have been subjected to harassment, arrest, and physical mistreatment while exercising their First Amendment rights to observe and record law enforcement activities in their city.
Lawsuit Targets Federal Task Force
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court, targets the Memphis Safe Task Force, a multi-agency operation comprising agents from 13 federal agencies. President Donald Trump ordered the task force to Memphis to combat crime, alongside Tennessee State Troopers and the Tennessee National Guard. Since late September, hundreds of federal, state, and local law enforcement personnel have conducted traffic stops, served warrants, and searched for fugitives in the predominantly Black city of approximately 610,000 residents. The lawsuit alleges that the task force has carried out over 120,000 traffic stops.
“In the professed name of crime control, Task Force agents have stopped, menaced, and arrested Memphians engaging in routine, day-to-day activities,” the lawsuit states. “In response, Memphians encountering Task Force agents in public, including Plaintiffs, have stopped to gather information about and record Task Force activities.”
Federal Officials Defend Operation
Emails from The Associated Press to the U.S. Department of Justice and a spokesperson for the task force were not returned on Wednesday morning. Federal officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, former Attorney General Pam Bondi, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, have visited Memphis to praise the task force. In October, Miller predicted the surge in law enforcement would make the city “safer than any of you could ever possibly imagine” and that “businesses and investment are going to pour in, and Memphis will be richer than ever before.”
The task force is part of a broader Trump administration effort to deploy National Guard troops and federal law enforcement in cities, particularly those controlled by Democrats. Following troop deployments in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, Trump referred to Portland, Oregon, as “war-ravaged” and threatened apocalyptic force in Chicago. Speaking last year to U.S. military leaders in Virginia, Trump proposed using cities as training grounds for the armed forces.
Allegations of Retaliation and Unconstitutional Practices
The lawsuit accuses task force agents of systematically retaliating against the four plaintiffs and other members of the public engaged in similar observations. It claims the threats and harassment are the “direct result of federal policy” that views observing federal agents performing their duties in public as a threat of harm to those agents. The lawsuit also alleges that federal and state officials have failed to train their agents not to retaliate against citizens engaged in First Amendment protected activities.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that retaliation against them for observing and recording law enforcement activity is unconstitutional and to prohibit the agents from further retaliation. Additionally, the lawsuit targets a Tennessee law, known as the “Halo Law,” which requires observers to stand at least 25 feet (7.6 meters) away from law enforcement officers if warned, or face arrest. The suit seeks to have the court declare the use of this law unconstitutional when applied to defendants who are not interfering with agents or impeding their duties.
