Noem Denies Use of Chemical Agents in Minnesota, Then Backtracks

Noem backtracks on claim 'chemical irritants' aren’t used against peaceful protesters

On Friday, January 16 in Minneapolis, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Menendez issued a preliminary injunction barring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from using "chemical irritants" like pepper spray against nonviolent protesters in that city. Menendez ruled that ICE agents can "only use those chemical agents when there's violence happening" — not against demonstrators who are nonviolently exercising their "protected First …

Noem denies use of chemical agents in Minnesota, then backtracks

WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem denied in a televised interview on Sunday that her department had used pepper spray and similar tactics curtailed by a judicial order issued last week, then backtracked and blamed protesters after being confronted with a video of federal agents deploying such measures against crowds in Minnesota.

Noem Denies Use of Chemical Agents in Minnesota Protests, Then Backtracks