Kristi Noem Walks Back Denial of Chemical Agent Use On Minnesota Protesters After Court Finds Evidence

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reversed course on her denial that federal agents had used chemical agents against protesters in Minnesota.

Speaking on CBS's "Face the Nation," Noem said her department had not used pepper spray or similar crowd-control tools restricted by a judicial order issued last week. "That federal order was a little ridiculous, because that federal judge came down and told us we couldn't do what we already aren't doing," she said.

After being confronted with video footage showing federal agents deploying chemical irritants during protests, Noem adjusted her account, attributing the use of force to protesters' behavior. Federal officers "only use those chemical agents when there's violence happening and perpetuating," she said.

The ruling cited by the interview stemmed from a decision Friday by U.S. District Judge Kate M. Menendez, who wrote that chemical agents had been used against protesters on at least four occasions. The evidence, she said, was "uncontroverted."

In her injunction, Menendez found that federal agents used chemical irritants to punish protesters for exercising "protected First Amendment rights to assemble and to observe and protest ICE operations."

The judge rejected the government's claim that the use of chemical agents occurred only after agents were attacked, concluding instead that protected conduct, including observing and protesting immigration enforcement, had "motivated" the agents' actions. The injunction bars the use of crowd-dispersal tools in retaliation for protected speech and limits the ability of agents to detain protesters who are not forcibly interfering with operations.

Asked about Noem's remarks by The New York Times, Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin did not address the initial denial or subsequent shift. Instead, she said assaulting or obstructing law enforcement is a felony and accused protesters of attacking officers and tampering with vehicles.

The lawsuit that led to the injunction was filed in December by activists protesting or observing immigration operations in Minnesota. It preceded the fatal shooting of Renee Good, an unarmed U.S. citizen, by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, an incident that intensified protests in the state.

During the same interview, Noem said the department is conducting an internal review of the agent's actions, stating that the process follows longstanding protocol, as The Hill reports. "We are following the exact same investigative and review process that we always have," she said, adding that no policies had been changed.

Noem also made broader claims about immigration enforcement, asserting that "every single individual" arrested by ICE had broken the law. Department officials later reiterated that about 70 percent of those detained have been charged with or convicted of a crime, without directly addressing Noem's expanded assertion.