Feds Indict 15 Members of Minnesota Antifa Paramilitary

Andy Ngo reporting:

The Department of Justice (DOJ) charged 15 individuals on Tuesday with conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers during the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis. The defendants are members and associates of a Twin Cities Antifa cell network, prosecutors said.

US Attorney for Minnesota Daniel Rosen announced that the defendants are allegedly involved with Twin Cities Direct Action, later renamed Direct Action Minnesota, or "DAMN," a collective that organizes anti-ICE operations across the Minneapolis area. The 94-page indictment alleges the cell trained extremists in surveillance, rapid mobilization, shield tactics, blockade operations, and methods designed to interfere with federal immigration enforcement.

The indictment also identifies the Black Cat Workers Collective, a Minneapolis-based Antifa affinity group, as a key component of the network. The group promotes militant tactics, physical confrontation, and revolutionary political objectives while organizing actions against ICE and law enforcement, according to prosecutors.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted home raids on Tuesday morning and took 12 of the 15 defendants into custody. Two defendants remain at large, and another defendant was already in jail.

The defendants have been charged with conspiracy to impede or injure federal agents and officers, alleging they worked together from January through June 2026 to prevent ICE and other Department of Homeland Security personnel from carrying out federal duties.

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Most of the defendants keep a low profile, like how Antifa militants are trained, but Wagner went viral earlier this year for his social media videos urging violence against federal agents. Wagner also declared himself an Antifa member in the videos and fundraised for the movement.

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The alleged conspiracy centered on the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Fort Snelling, which houses ICE operations for the Upper Midwest. The militants organized both "hard" and "soft" blockades intended to shut down access to the facility. The indictment describes plans involving homemade shields, trailers, vehicles, and physical barriers placed in roadways used by law enforcement.

Similar tactics were deployed by Antifa in Portland and other cities during the deadly 2020 BLM-Anitfa riots after George Floyd died.

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"The 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," said US Attorney for Minneapolis Daniel Rosen.

"Direct Action Minnesota emphasizes their violent militant approach to politics, and are highly critical of non-violent peaceful protest," said Rosen, explaining that the organization is "dedicated to direct action against federal law and immigration enforcement."

"This action is not peaceful. It's obstructive, disruptive, and unlawful. The organization trains its members in the aggressive use of shields against law enforcement, surveillance, operational planning, and rapid mobilization against law enforcement actions," Rosen added.

posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 07:02 PM

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