By Jake Offenhartz and Mark Vancleave
Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Federal prosecutors have charged 15 people with impeding the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota earlier this year, accusing them of coordinating efforts to block deportations as part of a conspiracy against the U.S. government.
During a news conference Tuesday, Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen said the monthslong investigation focused on two activist groups whose members and associates “violently opposed the enforcement of federal law.”
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He characterized the groups as “antifa,” an umbrella term for a movement of militant left-wing activists.
Twelve people were arrested Tuesday, two remained at large and one was already in custody, officials said. Information about their attorneys was not immediately available.
Dozens of protesters gathered to denounce the arrests on Tuesday outside a federal courthouse in St. Paul, where several defendants were set to make an initial appearance. As some in the crowd attempted to block a courthouse door, federal officers deployed pepper spray at the group.
The indictment comes as the Trump administration continues to charge protesters allegedly associated with “antifa,” which he has labeled a domestic terrorist group.
In March, eight people accused of having ties to antifa were convicted on terrorism charges in a Texas shooting, a first of its kind case.
The 15 people charged Tuesday were part of “Direct Action Minnesota,” a left-wing coalition of protest groups that played a role in the “surveillance, operational planning and rapid mobilization against law enforcement,” Rosen said.
Some had self-identified as “antifa,” he said.
Their alleged actions include “stalking” U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents, throwing blocks of ice at their vehicles and setting up blockades around federal buildings. Rosen declined to say whether any federal agents were injured as a result.
“Whether or not they actually, at the end of the day, cause bodily harm is not the measure of whether or not they committed a serious federal crime,” he told reporters.
The defendants were each charged with conspiracy to impede or injury a federal officer, with some facing additional charges such as interstate stalking, destruction of government property and assault on a federal officer.
The alleged conspiracy began in January, shortly after the Trump administration launched its sweeping immigration crackdown, dubbed Operation Metro Surge, in response to reports of fraud within Minnesota’s Somali community.
The crackdown brought thousands of federal agents into the Twin Cities and surrounding areas, who often wore masks and traveled in unmarked SUVs.
The sudden influx drew fierce protests from Minnesota residents, who quickly set up a sprawling network of anonymous Signal chats to track the movement of ICE agents. Protesters then used whistles and car horns to draw attention to detentions as they were happening.
Despite the intense pushback, federal prosecutors said the operation resulted in more than 4,000 arrests.
At the time, border czar Tom Homan indicated that federal authorities were probing “the organization and funding of the attacks on ICE.”
“They’ll be held accountable,” he said. “Justice is coming.”
The offices of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison — Democrats who have been critical of Trump’s immigration crackdown in the state — did not immediately respond to email messages Tuesday seeking comment on the federal indictment.
