(The Center Square) – The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging a Tennessee law that requires the public to remain 25 feet away from law enforcement officers making an arrest or investigating incidents.
The organization filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday, saying members of the Memphis Safe Streets Task Force are violating the First Amendment rights of citizens who attempt to film its activities. The defendants include interim U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Chief Border Patrol Officer Matt Perry, Col. Matt Perry of the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Shelby County District Attorney Steven Mulroy.
Plaintiff Hunter Demster said he was “followed, threatened, and retaliated against for exercising my rights should concern everyone who cares about the First Amendment.”
The lawsuit also says the state’s Halo Law, which creates a 25-foot buffer around law enforcement, is being misapplied. Anyone who violates the law could be charged with a Class B misdemeanor after receiving one warning from law enforcement. The charge carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a fine of up to $500.
“Courts have repeatedly upheld the right to record law enforcement in public spaces, because our government is ultimately accountable to the people,” said Faith E. Gay, an attorney with Selendy Gay PLLC, one of the law firms involved in the case. “Exercising First Amendment rights should not result in arrests, intimidation, or surveillance, and yet that is exactly what is happening to people in Memphis.”
The ACLU is asking the court to rule that enforcing the Halo Law violates the First Amendment and to order law enforcement to stop enforcing it. They are also asking the court to side with them on claims that law enforcement has retaliated against citizens filming law enforcement while they were making arrests or conducting an investigation.
Gov. Bill Lee signed a memorandum of understanding with President Donald Trump in September, authorizing the National Guard in Memphis to help local law enforcement. The National Guard is part of the Memphis Safe Streets Task Force, which consists of state, federal and local law enforcement agents that work together.
Some residents and lawmakers pushed back against the National Guard’s deployment. The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled on April 28 that the National Guard’s presence in the city was lawful, after state and local officials filed a suit last year.
Supporters of the Guard’s presence and the task force say crime has declined since their initial deployment.
The Memphis-Shelby County Crime Commission’s latest statistics show that overall crime was down by 19.5% in 2025 compared to 2024, and violent crime declined 27.6%.
