The Justice Department announced charges against 15 people for allegedly “violently” impeding federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota. The 15 individuals, who the Justice Department alleges are part of anti-fascist groups, are being charged with a variety of crimes, including conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, interstate threats, interstate stalking, assault on a federal officer and destruction of government property. Twelve of the 15 people were arrested Tuesday and two remain at large. One person was already in
custody for previous charges. “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 Rosen said Tuesday at a news conference. The 15 charged are a part of Direct Action Minnesota, which Rosen described as an anti-fascist organization that trains its members in aggressive use of shields against police. He said during
last year’s Operation Metro Surge, the operation carried out by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants, Direct Action Minnesota “infiltrated” protests to “carry out unlawful” actions and target ICE and federal and state police. Rosen said the members used cars and ice blocks to obstruct roads used by police, they used homemade shields to resist police on foot, and they followed and harassed police. “Such stalking and other direct actions against law enforcement are criminal, they’re un-American,
and they’ll be met with swift justice,” Rosen said. Michael McCarthy, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations St. Paul, called the alleged disruption a “deeply concerning trend.” “These acts were designed to create chaos, disrupt operations and threaten the safety of our offices in our community,” McCarthy said at Tuesday’s news conference. Charging protesters for these kinds of crimes isn’t always successful. Federal prosecutors have arrested and charged 36 people for assaulting or impeding officers related to the ICE protests, but 29 of the
cases have been dropped, according to MPR News.
Justice Department, charges, Minnesota, ICE, immigration enforcement, Direct Action Minnesota, Operation Metro Surge, federal officers, conspiracy, assault, interstate threats