ACLU lawsuit alleges First Amendment violations by Memphis Task Force
The suit says agents retaliated against residents for recording police activity and seeks to block enforcement of a 25-foot observer rule.
- On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the Memphis Safe Task Force, alleging agents systematically harassed and retaliated against four residents who attempted to record law enforcement activities.
- President Donald Trump established the 31-agency Task Force in September 2025 to combat crime, resulting in over 120,000 traffic stops in the city of about 610,000.
- Plaintiffs allege agents invoked the 'Halo Law' to push observers back, with one vehicle stopping two inches from Hunter Demster and Jessica Chodor jailed for 27 hours after refusing to stop filming.
- The lawsuit seeks to declare retaliation and the 'Halo Law' application unconstitutional, while White House spokesperson Liz Huston defended the task force, stating officials are working to 'make Memphis safe again.'
- This filing follows a separate pending appeal by media outlets challenging the 'Halo Law,' as documenting government officials in public remains paramount to ensuring accountability and constitutional freedoms.
38 Articles
38 Articles
Lawsuit claims Tennessee's 'Halo Law' illegally used to prevent filming of Memphis Safe Task Force
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Memphis Safe Task Force and other federal and state leaders, alleging its members are unlawfully using Tennessee's Halo Law to prevent citizens from recording and observing police.
Tennessee Lookout
nbc39.comACLU lawsuit: ‘Startling pattern’ of First Amendment violations by Memphis Safe Task Force
Tennessee National Guard patrol Memphis as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force.(Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)Memphis Safe Task Force agents are engaging in a “startling pattern of retaliation, intimidation, and harassment” against bystanders who record their activities, a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union alleges. Filed Wednesday on behalf of four Memphis residents who have suffered pushback after observing a…
Memphis residents claim harassment, abuse by task force
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Four Memphis residents are suing U.S. and Tennessee officials, saying they have been harassed, arrested and physically mistreated for engaging in First Amendment protected activities by observing and recording law enforcement agents in their city.
Lawsuit Hits Trump’s Memphis Task Force As Marshals Reveal 9,000 Arrests And 1,500 Guns Seized
The timing could not have been more revealing. On May 13, four Memphis residents filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump-ordered Memphis Safe Task Force, alleging harassment and mistreatment. That very same day, the U.S. Marshals Service dropped a detailed accounting of what the task force has actually accomplished since President Donald Trump sent it...
Lawsuit Hits Trump’s Memphis Task Force As Marshals Reveal 9,000 Arrests And 1,500 Guns Seized * 100PercentFedUp.com * by Donald
Four Memphis residents sued the Trump-ordered Memphis Safe Task Force the same day U.S. Marshals released major law-enforcement results: 9,074 violent fugitives arrested, more than 1,500 illicit guns seized, 951 gang members taken off the streets, and 150 missing children located.
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