Kristi Noem Backtracks on Denial of Chemical Agents in Minnesota Protests

Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, 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. “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,” Ms. Noem said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” But after being pressed on a video that backed up the accounts provided to the court, she changed course. Protesters were to blame for the use of force, she said, adding that federal officers “only use those chemical agents when there’s violence happening and perpetuating.” The ruling on Friday by Judge Kate M. Menendez of the Federal District Court in Minnesota said that chemical agents had been used against protesters on at least four separate occasions and called the evidence of their use “uncontroverted.” “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 wrote in issuing her injunction, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In response to an inquiry about Ms. Noem’s comments, Tricia McLaughlin, a homeland security spokeswoman, did not comment on Ms. Noem’s initial denial and backtracking of immigration agents’ use of force. Instead, she emphasized that assaulting and obstructing law enforcement is a felony, and accused protesters of tampering with agents’ vehicles and attacking officers with fireworks and automobiles. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.