Fifteen Charged in Minnesota Over Response to Immigration Crackdown That Killed Two

Fifteen people in Minnesota were charged with conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers over their response to an immigration enforcement crackdown known as Operation Metro Surge. S. Attorney for Minnesota Daniel Rosen and Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations for Minnesota Michael McCarthy announced the charges at a press conference in Minneapolis on Tuesday.

The indictment names two Minneapolis-based groups: Direct Action Minnesota and Black Cat Worker’s Collective, which the document describes as a subgroup of the first. Prosecutors allege the defendants were part of groups that violently oppose immigration law enforcement.

Of the 15 charged, 12 people were arrested on Tuesday, one person was already in custody on other federal charges, and two people remain at large.

U.S. attorney’s office has dropped 18 of its 36 prior cases related to the crackdown, including one case dropped after a judge called a charging document a false affidavit. Rosen showed social media posts and videos of some indicted individuals during the press conference.

In one video, a man declares he is antifa and discusses bringing guns to a demonstration. In one post, a defendant says people needed to become ungovernable. The Trump administration categorized antifa as a domestic terror organization last fall.

The indictment does not allege that officers were injured by the defendants, though it mentions defendants kicking a federal vehicle and knocking notes from an agent’s hands. Rosen did not answer repeated questions about whether any agents or officers were injured. The Trump administration sent thousands of immigration agents to Minnesota starting in late 2025.