Fargo wrongful arrest facial recognition lawsuit

Angela Lipps, a 50-year-old woman from Tennessee, has filed a $10 million federal lawsuit against the City of Fargo, North Dakota, and Detective Lucas Heck following a wrongful arrest. The legal action stems from an incident in July 2025, where Lipps was arrested at gunpoint by U.S. Marshals while babysitting in Tennessee due to an error involving AI facial recognition technology.

Law enforcement allegedly used facial recognition software to match a social media photo of Lipps to a suspect in a North Dakota bank fraud case involving a fake military ID. While previous reports noted the use of facial recognition, new details in the complaint specify that investigators used a photograph from a fraudulent identification card to conduct searches via Clearview AI, rather than utilizing surveillance footage. Although Clearview AI specifies that its results should only be treated as potential investigative leads, the lawsuit alleges that Fargo police presented the match as a confirmed identification without independent verification.

Despite having never visited North Dakota, Lipps was detained for approximately 108 days in Tennessee before being extradited to face eight felony charges, including theft and unauthorized use of personal identification. She was eventually released on Christmas Eve 2025 after bank records proved she was in Tennessee, over 1,000 miles away, during the time of the alleged crimes.

The lawsuit alleges violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, including false imprisonment, false arrest, and malicious prosecution. Lipps claims the error and subsequent detention resulted in the loss of her residence, vehicle, and personal property, as well as the denial of necessary medical and dental care. Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski has acknowledged errors in the investigation and stated that the department has since updated its protocols regarding the use of facial recognition technology.