type: timeline_event
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan ordered the immediate release of Garrison Gibson, ruling that ICE agents violated his Fourth Amendment rights when they used a battering ram to break into his north Minneapolis home on January 11, 2026, armed only with administrative paperwork rather than a judicial warrant.
In his nine-page ruling, Judge Bryan wrote: "To arrest him, Respondents forcibly entered Garrison G.'s home without his consent and without a judicial warrant. This arrest violated the Fourth Amendment. For this independent reason, Garrison G.'s detention is unlawful, and the Court orders his immediate release." The judge found that Gibson had no criminal record, contradicting DHS claims, and that ICE failed to comply with notification requirements.
Gibson, who fled the Liberian civil war as a child, had been ordered removed based on a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed by courts. He remained in the country legally under an order of supervision, checking in regularly with immigration authorities—including just days before the battering ram arrest at the same building where agents staged enforcement raids. The judge noted "there is nothing in the record to suggest changed circumstances" justifying the detention.
Despite the ruling, ICE re-arrested Gibson during a routine immigration appointment, then released him again hours later. Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin attacked Judge Bryan as "yet another activist judge trying to obstruct the American people's mandate to remove criminal illegal aliens"—despite the court finding Gibson had no criminal record and was in the country legally. The ruling directly contradicted the secret ICE memo authorizing warrantless home entries that would be revealed by whistleblowers days later.