Filed Date: May 13, 2026
Case Ongoing
Clearinghouse coding in progress
(This summary is temporary while we research the case further). Filed on May 13, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Western Division, this lawsuit was brought by four Memphis, Tennessee residents against twelve federal and state officials in their official capacities, including the Acting Attorney General, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol head. The plaintiffs alleged that they regularly observed, photographed, and recorded the Memphis Safe Task Force in public spaces to document potential abuses and assist affected community members, doing so without impeding law enforcement activity. The Task Force was established by President Trump on September 15, 2025, and grew to approximately 2,800 agents from 31 agencies by January 2026. Plaintiffs allege that Task Force agents systematically retaliated against them for their recording activities through verbal threats, vehicle intimidation, retaliatory traffic stops, surveillance of their faces and license plates using facial recognition and license plate reader technology, taunting them by name, surveilling their homes, and obstructing their cameras with bright lights. One plaintiff was tackled, falsely arrested, and detained for 27 hours — during which she was allegedly denied water for eight hours, food for nine hours, her prescription medication, and adequate sleeping conditions — before her charges were dismissed. Plaintiffs further allege that Task Force agents repeatedly invoked Tennessee's "Halo Law" (Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-612(a)) against them up to 40–50 times in one instance, arguing the law creates an arbitrarily applied floating buffer zone that prevents them from observing or recording public government activity. Plaintiffs assert two First Amendment claims — one for retaliatory conduct and one for unconstitutional application of the Halo Law — and seek declaratory relief, injunctive relief, expungement of surveillance records, and attorneys' fees.
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73334240/parties/demster-v-blanche/
Buoymaster, Katherine Louise (Tennessee)
Cameron-Vaughn, Lucas (Tennessee)
Gay, Faith (Tennessee)
Hauss, Brian Matthew (Tennessee)
Dunlap, Melanie R. (Tennessee)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73334240/demster-v-blanche/
Last updated June 22, 2026, 12:14 p.m.
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government
Key Dates
Filing Date: May 13, 2026
Case Ongoing: Yes
Case Details
Other Dockets:
Western District of Tennessee 2:26-cv-02546
Case Summary of Demster v. Blanche, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/48265/.