Fifteen people in Minnesota have been charged with conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers over their response to a controversial immigration enforcement operation earlier this year. The charges were announced by US attorney Daniel Rosen and Homeland Security Investigations special agent Michael McCarthy at a press conference in Minneapolis.
Prosecutors allege the defendants were part of two Minneapolis-based ‘antifa’ groups, Direct Action Minnesota and Black Cat Worker’s Collective, which ‘violently oppose immigration law enforcement’. Twelve of those charged were arrested on Tuesday, one was already in custody, and two remain at large.
Chaotic scenes erupted outside the federal courthouse as protesters clashed with federal agents, who deployed teargas and pepper spray. Earlier, a group of dozens gathered to speak out against the charges, with signs reading ‘stop FBI entrapment’ and ‘protesting is not a crime’.
The charges come as other federal cases against protesters have collapsed. The US attorney’s office has dropped 18 of 36 prior cases related to ‘Operation Metro Surge’, including one where a judge called a charging document a ‘false affidavit’. Rosen defended the new charges, saying ‘the evidence will prove it all out’.
The Trump administration sent thousands of immigration agents to Minnesota starting in late 2025, partly based on fraud allegations against Somali residents. The crackdown led to protests and the deaths of two people, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, killed by agents. No charges have been filed in those deaths, though Rosen said they remain under investigation.
