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Border Patrol agents deployed to Minnesota on Saturday fired at least ten shots at a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, killing him. Within hours, Trump administration officials characterized the deceased as a “domestic terrorist” who was out to “massacre law enforcement.” (NYT.) Videos of the encounter appeared to contradict the administration’s narrative, according to separate analyses by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, CBS News, and Reuters.
Hours after the shooting, top Senate Democrats vowed to vote against an appropriations bill to fund the government if it included funding for the Department of Homeland Security. (NYT.)
Judge Eric C. Tostrud (D. Minn.) on Saturday issued a temporary restraining order requiring DHS and the FBI to preserve all evidence related to the shooting in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office brought the case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, arguing the Trump administration violated the Tenth Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act by denying local and state investigators access to the crime scene and additional evidence. (Order.) (Complaint.) (NYT.) (WSJ.)
Chris Geidner highlighted declarations submitted on behalf of witnesses to Saturday’s shooting in a federal case challenging the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement in Minnesota. (Law Dork.)
A three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit on Friday rejected the Justice Department’s request that the court issue a writ of mandamus to force a lower court judge to authorize arrest warrants for five people in connection to a protest at a Minnesota church. (Order.) (Politico.) (NYT.) Steve Vladeck argued that a pair of letters written by Patrick J. Schiltz, the chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, reveals DOJ’s attempt to “end-run long-settled understandings of basic criminal procedure.” (One First.) For background on the DOJ’s investigation into the church protest, see a prior Roundup.
The Justice Department argued in a filing submitted Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida that special counsel Jack Smith’s final report of his investigation into Donald Trump “belongs in the dustbin of history” and should not be unsealed outside of the department. (Response.) (WaPo.)
The U.S. military said on Friday that it had struck an alleged drug boat in the Eastern Pacific, killing two people. (NYT.)
The New York Times Editorial Board called on Congress to investigate the shootings in Minneapolis involving federal immigration enforcement agents as well as their treatment of peaceful protestors more broadly. (NYT.)
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board said the spin offered by U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem after Saturday’s shooting “simply isn’t believable” and urged President Trump to withdraw ICE agents from Minneapolis and strike a more conciliatory tone. (WSJ.)
Steve Vladeck argued Congress should pass legislation to strengthen legal avenues to hold federal officers and the federal government accountable for violating people’s rights. (One First.) Because U.S. laws for holding federal officials accountable are “unavailable in practice,” Vladeck also argued with Barry Friedman that state and local prosecutors should bring charges against federal officials under state law. (NYT.)
Former Attorney General William P. Barr defended Pam Bondi’s handling of the release of the Epstein files. (WSJ.)
The Washington Post Editorial Board argued that the recently announced TikTok deal does not go far enough to satisfy the “ban-or-sale” requirement of the 2024 law passed by Congress. (WaPo.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Blanche v. Perlmutter: The government filed an emergency application on October 27 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a district court interlocutory injunction that temporarily reinstated Shira Perlmutter to her role as Register of Copyrights while litigation over her removal continues. Chief Justice Roberts formally set a deadline of November 10 for a response to the application. Perlmutter submitted a response on November 10. Blanche submitted a reply on November 12. The Court deferred the application for stay on November 28 pending the Court’s decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook.
Trump v. Cook: The government filed an emergency application on September 18 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a preliminary injunction issued by a district court that blocked President Trump from removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Cook filed an opposition to the request on the same day. The Chief Justice formally set a deadline of September 25 for a response to the application. Cook filed a response on September 25. On October 1, the Court deferred action on the stay application pending oral argument in January 2026 and established a supplemental briefing schedule. Additional amicus briefs were filed on October 29. Both sides filed supplemental briefs on November 19 and the Court heard oral argument on Jan. 21, 2026.