Federal judge orders Las Vegas Metro police to limit pepperball use against a June 2025 anti-ICE protester

What happened

Chief U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon has restricted how the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department can use pepperballs against one woman arrested during the June 2025 anti-ICE protest, KTNV reported. The judge cited what he described as repeated, documented incidents of excessive force and warned that the conduct is likely to continue.

The order covers only Kathleen Cavalaro, whose lawsuit against Metro is still pending. According to KTNV, her attorneys hope the order will have a broader effect on the rights of protesters.

What the video showed

The arrest

Body camera video shows officers firing dozens of pepperballs at Cavalaro as she walked away while following police orders to leave, KTNV reported. She was hit in the back, chased down the sidewalk, taken to the ground, zip-tied and arrested. She was never charged with a crime.

The judge's finding on the shot

LVMPD argued that the shot to her back was "unintentional." After watching the video, Gordon disagreed. According to KTNV, he found that the shot was "intentional, retaliatory and excessive." The shot was allegedly fired by a then-deputy chief who is now an assistant sheriff.

Other force that night

The judge also pointed to other uses of force during the protest. The order says officers fired pepperballs at the feet of a non-threatening photographer who was kneeling to photograph the police skirmish line, then shot him in the back as he retreated. Another officer fired pepperballs toward protesters who were retreating across an intersection.

Why the court stepped in

A chilling effect on speech

Cavalaro told the court she is afraid to attend future protests. She said she is "still full of anxiety and fear of being falsely arrested again, being shot with pepperballs or worse." Gordon found that this fear is chilling her First Amendment rights.

"Turns out it's quite intimidating to be put in jail for 24 hours for exercising your rights," Cavalaro told KTNV. She added that she is still recovering.

Policy changes were not enough

Metro has since revised its policies on protests and pepperball use, KTNV reported. But the judge wrote that the department "does not appear to adequately recognize the wrongfulness of the officers' conduct." He also wrote that the "conduct is likely to continue."

What the order requires

The court granted a limited preliminary injunction. Under it, LVMPD and its officers may not use pepperballs against Cavalaro unless she engages in assaultive conduct or presents an immediate threat to public safety.

Gordon acknowledged that this may sound like something police should already be doing. "I recognize that this language orders Metro to simply comply with its own policies," he wrote. He said the order was still appropriate because Metro appeared to have violated both its own policies and clearly established law.

The cost of the protest lawsuits

Metro has paid nearly half a million dollars to settle lawsuits from protesters who say police mistreated them during the June 2025 ICE protest, according to KTNV. Cavalaro's case has not been resolved. The injunction does not end it.

"It's just wrong," Cavalaro told the station. "People should not be trying to intimidate others into being quiet, into not exercising their rights." For more on policing in the valley, see our public safety coverage.

What to watch next

• Cavalaro's lawsuit against Metro is still ongoing. The injunction applies while that case moves forward.
• The order applies only to Cavalaro, but her attorneys say they hope it will have a broader impact on protesters' rights.