Overview
- A Ramsey County judge granted the civil injunction Thursday after prosecutors presented social‑media posts and investigator testimony that they said showed plans for a large fight at the State Fair.
- Seven of the ten people named in the lawsuit signed court stipulations promising not to attend the fair or enter a designated safety zone around the fairgrounds from Aug. 27 to Sept. 7 and prosecutors say they will drop the case against them if they comply.
- The judge separately ruled that three defendants meet Minnesota’s legal definition of members of the Muddy group and barred those three from associating with one another or other known members inside the safety zone.
- Officials said law enforcement will monitor the fair and can remove or arrest people who violate the injunction, but defense lawyers and reporters noted practical ID challenges in crowded settings and raised due‑process and long‑term harm concerns about labeling people as gang members.
- The move uses a rarely invoked civil gang law meant to prevent crime before it happens and could set a local precedent for how prosecutors balance public safety with civil liberties in future large public events.