Fifteen people in Minnesota were charged Tuesday with conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers, the latest legal action by the Justice Department against opponents of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement in the state.
U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen and the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations announced the charges at a press conference in Minneapolis. Rosen said the defendants were members of two Minneapolis-based antifa groups that “violently oppose immigration law enforcement.”
Prosecutors showed social media posts and video of some of the indicted individuals to illustrate the allegations. In one video, a man declares he is antifa and discusses bringing guns to a demonstration. Rosen did not answer whether any federal agents or officers were injured by the defendants, according to a report from The Guardian.
Twelve of the 15 defendants were arrested Tuesday, one was already in custody on other federal charges, and two remain at large, officials said.
The charges are part of the federal response to Operation Metro Surge, the immigration enforcement operation that began in Minnesota in late 2025. The Trump administration deployed thousands of immigration agents to the state, in part citing fraud allegations against Somali residents, according to The Guardian. The operation sparked broad community resistance, including people monitoring agents and providing food for those staying home from work. Federal agents killed two people — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — during street encounters in Minneapolis, further fueling protests.
Outside the federal courthouse in Minneapolis on Tuesday, dozens of people gathered to speak out against the charges, according to The Guardian. Signs among the crowd read “stop FBI entrapment” and “protesting is not a crime.” Among those present was Nekima Levy Armstrong, who faces charges in a separate case over a protest at a church.
Sarah Lazare, an editor and reporter for Workday Magazine, posted on X on Tuesday that the Immigrant Defense Network had confirmed that a constitutional observer’s home in South Minneapolis was raided by Homeland Security Investigations and other agencies, resulting in an arrest.
Rosen suggested that more charges could be filed as the investigation continues. “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,” he said.
The Minnesota case adds to a growing list of federal conspiracy prosecutions related to opposition to immigration enforcement. In February, the Trump administration secured its first “antifa” terrorism-related conviction in the Prairieland case in north Texas, following a non-fatal shooting at a July 2025 noise demonstration, with 22 defendants across federal and state charges. In Spokane, Washington, three activists were convicted of conspiracy charges over an anti-ICE demonstration. Federal prosecutors in Illinois charged six people with conspiracy over a protest at the Broadview detention facility, though those charges were later dropped amid claims of prosecutorial misconduct.
Nearly 40 others — including journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort — face federal charges over a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, where a pastor reportedly worked as an ICE official, according to The Guardian. Local prosecutors declined to charge the protesters.