Tennessee Grandmother Sues North Dakota City Over AI-Driven False Arrest

A grandmother from Elizabethton, Tennessee has initiated legal proceedings against North Dakota’s Fargo City and its police department. She claims they wrongfully detained her based on faulty artificial intelligence facial recognition, in connection to a bank theft case.

Angela Lipps, 50, explained that the incident occurred while she was babysitting her neighbor’s children. In July 2025, police apprehended her at gunpoint at her home. Her lawsuit, filed on September 15, 2026, contends that authorities used only a flawed AI facial recognition match to extradite her from Tennessee, despite her lack of involvement or connection to North Dakota.

Experts in police technology noted to Fox News Digital that this case is among more than twelve reported misuse incidents of facial recognition by law enforcement.

I sat in a county jail in Tennessee for 108 days, Lipps stated in a GoFundMe post. They called me a fugitive from justice. I had no bail and no one interviewed me. I just waited.

The bank theft case in question spanned April and May 2025, when an unidentified woman allegedly committed fraud using counterfeit IDs in Fargo and West Fargo, North Dakota. Officials reportedly used a photo from a fake ID rather than surveillance footage for facial recognition searches with Clearview AI.

Clearview AI mandates facial recognition matches be treated as leads requiring further validation. However, the lawsuit alleges Fargo police prematurely identified Lipps as the perpetrator without independent verification. West Fargo Police declined charges, recognizing the lack of corroboration.

Detective Lucas Heck is accused of neglecting to review exculpatory evidence, including Lipps’ financial and travel records and failing to arrange photo lineups. Surveillance footage identified significant differences between Lipps and the suspect, including her distinctive neck tattoo.

Despite the discrepancies, U.S. Marshals arrested Lipps on July 14, 2025, at her Tennessee home. She was extradited to North Dakota, jailed on a $100,000 bond, and charged with eight felonies, potentially facing up to ten years’ imprisonment.

All charges were dropped on December 24, 2025, after Lipps proved she was in Tennessee during the thefts. Her absence led to the loss of her residence, car, and personal belongings.

Fargo officials admitted to investigative failures linked to facial recognition misuse during a March 2026 press briefing. Mayor Tim Mahoney stated, When we discovered errors in our facial recognition processes, they were immediately addressed.

Clare Garvie from the Policing Project noted an increase in AI-related wrongful arrests. The American Civil Liberties Union’s Nate Freed-Wessler echoed concerns about rising wrongful arrests due to AI, emphasizing the need for additional investigative measures.