DOJ Charges 15 Direct Action Minnesota Members With Impeding ICE Agents in Minneapolis

Federal prosecutors charged 15 people with impeding federal agents during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, accusing them of coordinating efforts to block arrests and deportations as part of a conspiracy against the U.S. government.

“Federal prosecutors charge 15 people with impeding agents during Minnesota immigration crackdown Federal prosecutors have charged 15 people with impeding federal agents during a massive immigration surge in Minnesota earlier this year Federal prosecutors have charged 15 people with impeding the Trump administration’s massive immigration crackdown in Minnesota earlier this year, accusing them of coordinating efforts to block arrests and deportations as part of a conspiracy against the U”

ABC News

The monthslong investigation focused on members and associates of “Direct Action Minnesota,” a left-wing coalition of protest groups, and Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen said the defendants played a role in the “surveillance, operational planning and rapid mobilization against law enforcement.”

ABC News

Rosen said some defendants self-identified as “antifa,” and their actions included “stalking” U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents, throwing blocks of ice at their vehicles, and setting up blockades around federal buildings.

Prosecutors said 12 people were arrested Tuesday, two remain at large, and one was already in custody, and Rosen declined to say whether any federal agents were injured as a result.

The charges were announced Tuesday at a press conference in Minneapolis, where prosecutors said the demonstrations stemmed from earlier this year protests against the mass immigration enforcement operation known as “Operation Metro Surge.”

After the DOJ announcement, protesters gathered outside the St. Paul federal building, and officers deployed gas canisters and pepper spray as protesters chanted expletives.

Nekima Valdez Levy Armstrong, a lawyer and former president of the NAACP Minneapolis chapter, told protesters gathered outside the federal building Tuesday, “Our time is now,” and “We must continue to resist, use our voices and don’t be afraid.”

CNN

At the same time, Rosen said the conspiracy was “to do it by force; that’s a crime, and it will not be tolerated in the United States,” and he declined to say whether any officers were injured during the demonstrations.

The Guardian described the charges as conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers and said prosecutors alleged the defendants were part of two Minneapolis-based “antifa” groups that “violently oppose immigration law enforcement.”

The Guardian also reported that chaotic scenes erupted outside the federal courthouse in Minneapolis on Tuesday, where federal agents deployed teargas and pepper spray as they tried to disperse the crowd, according to video footage and witnesses.

Beyond the courtroom case, the Intercept reported that a Human Rights Watch report documented abuses over the multi-month siege of Minneapolis and St. Paul, including lethal violence and free speech violations.

“In Minneapolis, federal prosecutors have announced charges against 15 anti-ICEactivists who took part in protests against the Trump administration’s deadly immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities earlier this year”

Democracy Now!

The Intercept said the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Minnesota saw a 120 percent increase in calls during Metro Surge, and it quoted Reagan Williams saying, “One goal of the report is to bring light back to the full scope of the harm.”

The Intercept also reported that more than 4,000 immigrants were arrested during Metro Surge, and it said the campaign had an arrest rate of roughly 100 arrests per day.

In the same reporting, the Intercept said a hotline run by the National Lawyers Guild recorded 524 cases of the U.S. citizens detained during the surge, and it noted the figure is believed to be a significant undercount.

Rosen told reporters that “If you are actively conspiring to impede law enforcement … you ought to go on the assumption that we’re watching, and we’ll get you,” framing the charges as part of a continuing effort to crack down on opposition to immigration enforcement.