MEMPHIS — The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed a lawsuit against a federal anti-crime taskforce in Memphis, nine months after then-President Donald Trump ordered its deployment. The lawsuit alleges that taskforce agents engaged in intimidation, including tailing cars, surveilling homes, and falsely arresting a community observer.

Hunter Demster, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, was arrested in October 2020 after attending a demonstration against then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr. Charges against Demster related to this arrest were later dropped. He serves as the food justice director at First Congo, a church in Memphis, which operates a program called Vecindarios 901 that dispatches volunteers to document taskforce activities and support individuals affected by immigration detentions. "I personally feel called to do this work, but I don't want to give the wrong impression; I'm terrified," Demster said. "I'm terrified when I go out in a lot of cases."

Dave Mason, a taskforce observer, stated that police regularly invoke Tennessee's 25-foot rule when they see him documenting activities. This rule makes approaching a police officer within 25 feet a class B misdemeanor. Mason said, "I am autistic, and my autism impacts how close I generally get to taskforce activity." He clarified his observation methods, stating, "I approach to the limit of my autistic comfort, which always involves some distance." Mason teaches theater at Rhodes College in Memphis.

James West, another taskforce observer, stated that a Diplomatic Security Service agent took his picture. West said that U.S. Customs and Border Protection revoked his Global Entry status due to the possibility of a law enforcement investigation or suspicion of terrorism-related conduct. West served as an anesthesiologist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and retired in 2024. "I believe that the government is currently vilifying and taking advantage of a whole population of vulnerable people, and I began filming law enforcement officers' actions in Memphis out of the conviction that doing so could bring attention to that fact," West said.