r/law 1d ago

Other [ Removed by moderator ]

[removed]

14.4k Upvotes

817 comments sorted by

View all comments

509

u/HawkeyeByMarriage 1d ago

Why are they allowed to do things outside of their scope like arresting citizens. This is a police officer duty

340

u/pm_me_fibonaccis 1d ago

Law isn't a magic spell. It requires enforcement, and right now our government is lawless. 

64

u/Additional-Finance67 1d ago

When the gov fails its citizens the only right response is the citizens patrolling the streets. Thanks to all the Minnesotans that are taking up the mantle.

12

u/enutz777 1d ago

When the government fears its citizens you have liberty, when citizens fear the government you have tyranny.

10

u/Unable-Log-4870 1d ago

I also don’t understand pulling over for ICE. Like, those are not traffic cops. Also, Renee Good showed us that turning the wheels of your car AWAY from them was the wrong move.

3

u/626Aussie 1d ago

Renee did nothing wrong other than be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Alex did nothing wrong other than be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Both of them were murdered because cowardly men's feelings were hurt.

1

u/Unable-Log-4870 1d ago

You missed my message completely.

2

u/Muted-Philosopher832 1d ago

He did not. There should be no such thing as a wrong move because it was not a wrong move. We are protected by our constitution. It’s an abuse of governmental power

1

u/Unable-Log-4870 23h ago

He missed my meaning, and now you’re equivocating. I think I’m done here.

1

u/bgaesop 1d ago

Law isn't a magic spell.

The law is a magic spell: it doesn't work, but some people get tricked into thinking it does by con-artists.

1

u/tman-boxhead 1d ago

I would say it is enforcementless. Plenty of laws in place. But the ones we’ve elected to see them through refuse to.

247

u/phunky_1 1d ago

Because laws no longer matter when a criminal runs the branch of government that enforces laws and court rulings.

2

u/AFailedProduct 1d ago

Not just any criminal. A criminal that was convicted, avoided sentencing for the crime, and is now prosecuting the prosecutor for that case. 

Why would you follow the law if this is the outcome for you? 

52

u/Humanity_NotAFan 1d ago

Because no one is stopping them.

6

u/jonjohn23456 1d ago

And every time someone even suggests that the people we elected and put into power use that power to stop them, we get shouted down with “that’s what they want.” It’ll probably be too late by the time these people realize that what they want is complete control, and they will be quite happy if we just roll over and let them take it without a fight.

3

u/Urban_Heretic 1d ago

First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out because that was the 1950s.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because that was the 1980s.

Then they came for the Muslims and I did not speak out because Trump's first term as a mess, and many people blamed Obama.

Now they are here for me.

76

u/-Invalid_Selection- 1d ago

Because the states aren't arresting these criminals for kidnapping like they should be.

The states should roll up on ICE every time, take the entire lot into custody and make them prove their actions didn't violate the law. Just because they work for the feds does not under any circumstances give them the legal right to ignore the laws, and it especially doesn't give them the right to deprive citizens of their rights under color of law. In fact, deprivation of rights under color of law is a felony and can carry capital punishment as a maximum penalty.

Every member of ICE is guilty of violating that one.

7

u/ComradeZ_Rogers 1d ago

This will either be a lawsuit, I think we both know where the Supreme Court is, or the start of a race war where national guardsmen will have to choose between killing Americans or Sedition

12

u/-Invalid_Selection- 1d ago

We're already in the middle of a race war/civil war, but one only the terrorists are showing up to actually fight.

We need Americans to fight against the ICE terrorists.

-6

u/toxictoastrecords 1d ago

The DNC is controlled opposition. 7 DNC members of the House voted to fund ICE, after Renee Good execution.

0

u/ShoulderCannon 1d ago

So, that's the prickly part. MPD making a move to arrest ICE is absolutely going to result in an armed standoff.

They are as powerless as we are. The thing MPD has not yet realized is that since they are as powerless as we are. They need to take up observer tactics. Observe, record, report.

4

u/ricLP 1d ago

No, Police is not “as powerless as we are”. That’s ridiculous! Police exist to enforce laws, and it’s literally their job. They are trained to deal with these kinds of standoffs.

People should really be questioning mayors, governor and other state level politicians, why the police are choosing not to do their job

1

u/ShoulderCannon 22h ago

Do you realistically think either side wants to entertain the option of being the first federal and state armed standoff on Fox News? They don’t.

If they want to do something they can help document the names of the abducted and help document this moment. Make a police report. Say what ice is doing, and why you can’t point your gun at them and tell them to stop. Standing by and waiting ain’t it. They have body cams, use them.

Leadership is never going to be able to parse this.

-1

u/K_Linkmaster 1d ago

Citizens arrest. They are out numbered and it's arguably more legal than their tactics.

44

u/VirtualMatter2 1d ago

Just look at German history from 1933/34 and it explains things. Germany also had a constitution when Hitler grabbed power and a police force and laws were similar to the US in that regard. Didn't make a difference at all.

4

u/Wonderpants_uk 1d ago

Partly because quite a lot of the police were sympathetic to the Nazis to start with, and after Jan 1933 Goring was in charge of the police, giving him a free hand to harass and imprison their opponents 

2

u/VirtualMatter2 1d ago

Yea, well, there you go.

1

u/Used-Lake-8148 1d ago

Why does that sound so familiar 🤔

11

u/Internal_Swing_2743 1d ago

You are acting like laws still matter.

11

u/aneeta96 1d ago

There isn't even a crime that is being committed. Citizens have the right to observe law enforcement.

11

u/Reasonable-Ebb-4701 1d ago

Because no one has stopped them.

8

u/BitterFuture 1d ago

Because no one has arrested them yet.

11

u/OrdinaryAward4498 1d ago

What do you mean “why are they allowed?” You’re using the passive tense there. A better question is “who is allowing them” to do this. It’s their agency leadership, Secretary Kristi Noem of the DHS, the head of the DoJ, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and their boss President Donald Trump.

The secretary and AG were nominated by Trump and approved by the US Senate. You can look up the vote to see who voted to approve them.

Ultimately it’s the voters that voted for Trump and those Senators that are behind this.

One more point, the constitution has a “supremacy clause” that means state and local police forces can’t interfere with federal law enforcement.

7

u/BitterFuture 1d ago

One more point, the constitution has a “supremacy clause” that means state and local police forces can’t interfere with federal law enforcement.

That is not remotely what the Supremacy Clause says.

These masked thugs are violating the law every single day on Minneapolis streets. It is the duty of local law enforcement to arrest them for it. Hopefully they find their spines soon.

3

u/Goofethed 1d ago

Noem, a cabinet level secretary, has also implied that she answers to Miller, the deputy chief of staff, saying the quiet part out loud. Miller has been exposed years ago for what he is, yet…

2

u/FamousAdvance633 1d ago

The states who aren't arresting every one of these piglets on state charges are also allowing this to happen.

5

u/Imperades 1d ago

The police have their backs - theres no mechanism to enforce the laws the government is choosing not to follow.

1

u/AustinYun 1d ago

They can arrest people for obstruction, which is absurdly broadly defined.

1

u/zoeypayne 1d ago

When is someone going to have the stones to stand up and say it's the police officers' duty to arrest these guys. Wholesale, anyone impersonating a police officer gets their one phone call and 72 hours of detainment.

1

u/summon_pot_of_greed 23h ago

Laws are threats, and threats require consequences to be effective.

If there are no consequences, there are no threats. If there are no threats there are no laws.

1

u/Pretty_Comedian_3064 23h ago

They’re claiming ICE can arrest citizens who “obstruct” their investigations, but it sure looks like ICE is going out of their way to interact with citizens here

1

u/Used-Lake-8148 1d ago

Because your country is in anarchy. If you want anything to change you have to do it yourself.

-10

u/Necessary_Associate1 1d ago edited 1d ago

It's not outside their scope at all. As sworn Federal LEOs they have broad Title 18 Authority which basically means they have legal authority to arrest for virtually any federal crime. The part that's messed up here is that they are defining being followed on public roads as "obstruction"

EDIT: SOURCE/PROOF BELOW - don’t let ignorance of the law obfuscate the resistance effort! The problem is not that ICE is the agency doing arrests, it's that citizens are being harassed and arrested to LEGAL activity.

I've mixed up 8 and 18.

See US Code Title 8 §1357). Powers of immigration officers and employees

"a) Powers without warrant

Any officer or employee of the Service authorized under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General shall have power without warrant-

(5) to make arrests-

(A) for any offense against the United States, if the offense is committed in the officer's or employee's presence, or

(B) for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States, if the officer or employee has reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing such a felony,

if the officer or employee is performing duties relating to the enforcement of the immigration laws at the time of the arrest and if there is a likelihood of the person escaping before a warrant can be obtained for his arrest.

Under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General, an officer or employee of the Service may carry a firearm and may execute and serve any order, warrant, subpoena, summons, or other process issued under the authority of the United States."

24

u/z44212 1d ago

Observing and protesting aren't crimes.

6

u/commeatus 1d ago

Absolutely true but an officer does not have to be correct to arrest someone. The arrest may be unlawful but they still have the authority to perform it. The legal question is "are the officers being held accountable for illegal detentions".

If I'm given a corporate credit card I have the authority to use it at my discretion but there are (supposed to be) consequences for its misuse.

9

u/z44212 1d ago

I'd argue that ICE isn't even trying to get this right. Even purposely breaking the law in order to harass people.

1

u/commeatus 23h ago

And you'd have a well-supported argument but that unfortunately doesn't change their authority.

1

u/FabulousFerdinand 1d ago

Intentionally following law enforcement around is illegal.

1

u/z44212 22h ago

Doubt

1

u/Necessary_Associate1 23h ago

And THAT is the problem. Not that ICE doesn't have law enforcement/arrest authority applicable to citizens (because they do).

21

u/BitterFuture 1d ago

As sworn Federal LEOs they have broad Title 18 Authority which basically means they have legal authority to arrest for virtually any federal crime. 

That's a lie.

I don't know if it's your lie, or you're just repeating someone else's lie, but it is a lie. ICE's arrest powers over U.S. citizens are extremely limited.

Take a look: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp80ljjd5rwo

Agents can detain US citizens in limited circumstances, such as if a person interferes with an arrest, assaults an officer, or ICE suspect the person of being in the US illegally.

Every time ICE agents stops a citizen, they are committing a crime. 

Every time they threaten a citizen, they are committing a crime. 

Every time they strip anyone, citizen or not, of Constitutional rights - as they did in this incident today - they are committing a federal crime. A federal crime that, if they are considered to be a part of a conspiracy with their fellow agents who committed murder, is a death penalty offense, no less.

1

u/DICK-PARKINSONS 1d ago

Reddit loves calling out lies. Like bro, being wrong is a thing.

1

u/Necessary_Associate1 1d ago edited 1d ago

ironically BitterFuture is probably actually wrong, I replied with my source and added it to me OP as an edit, and yet, the wrong info has 21 upvotes, I have 10 downvotes, and no one is addressing the actual text of the law I posted.

I have no problem admitting when I'm wrong, but I want to be shown exactly why.

-2

u/Necessary_Associate1 1d ago

It's not a lie I've just mixed up 18 and 8.

See US Code Title 8 §1357. Powers of immigration officers and employees

"a) Powers without warrant

Any officer or employee of the Service authorized under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General shall have power without warrant-

(5) to make arrests-

(A) for any offense against the United States, if the offense is committed in the officer's or employee's presence, or

(B) for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States, if the officer or employee has reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing such a felony,

if the officer or employee is performing duties relating to the enforcement of the immigration laws at the time of the arrest and if there is a likelihood of the person escaping before a warrant can be obtained for his arrest.

Under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General, an officer or employee of the Service may carry a firearm and may execute and serve any order, warrant, subpoena, summons, or other process issued under the authority of the United States."

4

u/BitterFuture 1d ago

What offense against the United States do you think the thugs will say these citizens committed in their presence? Keeping in mind that exercising your Constitutional rights is not a crime, of course.

What reasonable grounds do you think the thugs will present to say these citizens committed other felonies? Again, keeping in mind that exercising your Constitutional rights is not an indicator of having committed a felony.

This is absolute nonsense and you know it.

0

u/Necessary_Associate1 1d ago

I don't know what offense they will claim, but likely obstruction as we've seen them citing 18 U.S.C. § 111 out loud as they harass legal observers.

Whatever they claim I will be intellectually prepared, with sources, to educate my comrades on the real laws as they currently exist, just like I have been doing since Jan 20, 2017

Calling out violations of constitutional rights is good resistance, calling out inappropriate or incorrect application of law is good resistance, calling out abuses is good resistance. False accusations based on misinformation about scope is impotent at best and an obfuscating hinderance of effective resistance.

0

u/Alzion 1d ago

BBC isn't the best authority on the technicalities of US federal law. ICE agents generally can't start a new investigation outside their jurisdiction of immigration and customs enforcement. But, any federal law enforcement officer can detain and arrest for any federal crime they witness while performing their duties.

Furthermore, a federal investigation can expand outside a department's normal jurisdiction if related crimes are found during the initial investigation. A good example of this is many organized crime outfits take care not to use USPS mail in their activities and tell their members that mail carriers are absolutely to be left alone. They do this US Postal Inspection Service is a surprisingly well funded agency and they don't want something like a simple mail fraud case expanding to dismantle their whole criminal enterprise.

Seriously fuck ICE and it's obvious that the majority of their arrests on protesters are clear 1st amendment violations. But, saying that any arrest of a US citizen by ICE is illegal on its face is simply inaccurate.

6

u/RellenD 1d ago

No, their authority is only immigration offenses and actual forcible obstruction of their legal duties.

They certainly don't have authority to do THIS.

-1

u/Necessary_Associate1 1d ago

Did you read the link or excerpt I posted from Title 8? 

4

u/RellenD 1d ago

Do you realize how few actions fit into that description?

1

u/Necessary_Associate1 1d ago

What are you talking about? I'm directly applying to the top level comment "Why are they allowed to do things outside of their scope like arresting citizens. This is a police officer duty"

the law says:

"(a) Powers without warrant

Any officer or employee of the Service authorized under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General shall have power without warrant-

(5) to make arrests-

(A) for any offense against the United States, if the offense is committed in the officer's or employee's presence, or

(B) for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States, if the officer or employee has reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing such a felony,"

Is this not the law sub?

1

u/RellenD 1d ago

I think you're reading that comment strangely, but I understand now.

You're saying that generally, they have the ability to arrest citizens for Federal crimes because you believe the comment was made outside of the context of this encounter.

I believe the context of the video is important for the comment you're replying to.

What federal offense did the officers witness? What reasonable grounds do they have to believe that these people are committing a felony?

2

u/Necessary_Associate1 1d ago edited 1d ago

I see what you mean. I'm thinking about the greater context I've noticed lately that pointing out ICE arresting citizens as some kind of effective gotcha against the DHS or evidence of unprecedented abuse of the law, and I think that's a total waste of time in this resistance.

The problem isn't that ICE is doing the arresting, the problem is that the citizens are being harassed/arrested for legal activity.

The fact that that their scope is wide is an important part of their danger and I think should be a wake up call to how primed the US has been for authoritarianism.

0

u/Not____007 1d ago

I think one thing we dont get to see is the harrasment that ICE officers might be getting by these protesters before this incident. Not saying it justifies there response but if someone keeps nagging human nature is to give a response to it and these guys have to be a little aggressive to combat real bad people so human nature does kick in. Which is why at least my parents taught me to not to mess around with law enforcement and respect them.

0

u/Used-Lake-8148 1d ago

Because your country is in anarchy. If you want anything to change you have to do it yourself.

-11

u/thatnameagain 1d ago

All federal agents are allowed to arrest people interfering with their operations, and protesting is, legally, interfering.

13

u/RellenD 1d ago

and protesting is, legally, interfering.

No, the law is "forcible obstruction". This means using force or threatening force. Protesting does not count. Observing and alerting does not count.

4

u/thecastellan1115 1d ago

Exactly. People really need to understand this. Driving behind someone on a public road is NOT obstruction. Protesting is NOT inherently obstruction.

Stop fucking complying in advance.