Federal Prosecutors Indict 15 Alleged Antifa Members Over Minnesota ICE Operations

Federal prosecutors in Minnesota announced Tuesday that 15 alleged members of an Antifa-linked group have been indicted on charges of conspiring to obstruct federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis earlier this year. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota said the suspects, 12 of whom are in custody, face charges of conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer.

Several face additional counts including interstate stalking, assault on a federal officer and destruction of government property.

Prosecutors allege the group, identified as Direct Action Minnesota Network, used Signal chats to coordinate street blockades, track federal vehicles and surveil the ICE field office at the Whipple Building. They are accused of using whistles to alert neighborhoods to ICE activity and setting up checkpoints to monitor federal agents.

One suspect is accused of following a federal immigration officer across state lines in May, while another is charged with interstate stalking and later assaulting an agent and kicking a federal vehicle, causing $1,000 in damage.

A woman was arrested in front of a hotel in Minnesota during a demonstration that police declared an unlawful assembly. Federal agents deployed tear gas during some protests, and one incident involved a woman driving her car into the path of an agent.

“Today's charges and arrests reflect a broad federal effort to address organized, lawless behavior, which seeks to disrupt the execution of federal law, endanger law enforcement, and, importantly, endanger the very communities that these defendants falsely claim to be protecting." — U.S. Attorney Daniel Roden, Tuesday press conference Officials said the defendants are not charged for protected speech but for alleged criminal conduct. A Homeland Security Investigations official stated that peaceful protest remains protected but violence and criminal activity cross into unlawful territory.”