MINNEAPOLIS — A group of parents is suing state and county child protection agencies in Minnesota, alleging children are illegally being removed from homes.

The civil rights lawsuit filed Tuesday claims the state’s child protection laws are overly broad and that children are taken from their homes and placed in foster care for parental discipline, such as spanking.

The Star Tribune says the main plaintiff in the lawsuit is Dwight Mitchell who found the organization Stop Child Protection Services From Legally Kidnapping. Mitchell says two of his children were removed from his home in Apple Valley by Dakota County child welfare workers after a baby sitter reported that Mitchell had spanked his son.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services has not commented on the case.