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Elian raid suit loses in court

MIAMI - A federal judge Friday ruled against awarding damages to 13 people who were tear-gassed by immigration agents during the raid to seize 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez in April 2000.

U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore issued a 19-page decision saying that the demonstrators and bystanders failed to show enough credible evidence that federal officers' use of force during the raid was "unreasonable under the circumstances."

The 13 people had sued the government for $3.25 million, claiming they had lingering injuries after they were sprayed at close range while on their own property or behind barricades. Three neighbors testified that an agent gassed them without warning from 2 to 4 feet away as they stood alone in their fenced front yards.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said they planned to appeal. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami declined to comment.

[Last modified May 8, 2005, 00:45:19]