The Memphis Safe Task Force intimidated and briefly detaining a resident who is suing them over alleged First Amendment rights violations, according to a new legal filing.
A First Amendment lawsuit filed in May accuses the Memphis Safe Task Force, created by President Donald Trump in September 2025, of of retaliation and harassment against four Memphis residents who tried to film agents’ activities.
The new filing regards plaintiff Hunter Demster, who operates a local soup kitchen.
Video provided to The Tennessean by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, which is representing Demster, shows Demster being pinned down and detained on Aug. 26 while agents cite the Halo
Law. Demster, who was trying to film agents making an arrest, was released shortly afterwards.
According to the Halo Law, passed in 2025, "a person commits an offense who intentionally approaches, within 25 feet, a law enforcement officer who is lawfully engaged in the execution of the officer's official duties after the officer has ordered the person to stop approaching or to retreat."
The law makes no exception for press, and has sparked lawsuits in numerous states.
According to the ACLU, “agents used the law as a moving wall, repeatedly issuing new stop-approaching orders as they walked toward Demster, so that standing still counted as a violation.”
In a statement Demster said, “The Task Force has tried to punish and intimidate me for exercising my First Amendment rights, but I will not let them chill my speech. It is not only concerning, it is also deeply frightening how their retaliation has escalated – all because I show the world what’s going on in Memphis. I have every right to record and observe what goes on in my own neighborhood, and I will not be intimidated into surrendering my free speech.”
The ACLU also provided video showing a Memphis Safe Task Force vehicle parked directly outside Demster’s home. In another incident, an agent photographed Demster, the group said.
"Task Force agents should not be staking out our clients' homes simply for recording their activities in public,” said Scarlet Kim, senior staff attorney with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. "Nor should they abuse the Halo Law to interfere with our clients’ First Amendment right to record. The Task Force’s unrelenting campaign of harassment against Demster and our other clients for simply documenting their activities is terrifying and a gross violation of their constitutional rights. The court must step in to protect them.”
The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment on this story. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security referred The Tennessean to the U.S. Marshals Service.
In a Sept. 15, 2025 announcing the Memphis task force, Trump said the city "is suffering from tremendous levels of violent crime that have overwhelmed its local government’s ability to respond effectively.
"The city, a beacon of American culture that was Elvis’ home and is often called the birthplace of rock and roll and the blues, should be safe and secure for all of its citizens and Americans who visit its historic landmarks such as Graceland, Beale Street and the Memphis Pyramid."
Angele Latham’s role covering First Amendment issues at The Tennessean is made possible by a collaboration among Freedom Forum, Journalism Funding Partners and the USA TODAY Network. Freedom Forum does not provide editorial input. Reach Angele Latham at alatham@gannett.com, on X at @angele_latham and on TikTok at @angelelatham.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Memphis task force agents intimidated a resident, lawsuit says
