Program dubbed ‘Operation Puppet Master’ probed progressive organizations and unions
Federal agents launched an undercover surveillance operation earlier this year targeting progressive organizations, labor unions and other groups protesting federal immigration enforcement operations then underway in Minneapolis, according to court documents filed Thursday. The program, dubbed Operation Puppet Master, was aimed at what officials called a network of conspirators helping “violent opportunists and agitators.”
The filings were made in a case involving 15 people charged by federal prosecutors in June with impeding immigration enforcement. Prosecutors accused the defendants of conspiring against the federal government through a range of actions, from throwing ice chunks to setting up blockades.
The documents were released Thursday in connection with a motion from defense lawyer Kevin Riach, who requested that officials disclose more material collected during the investigations.
The court filings indicate the undercover operation cast a wide net across activist networks and organizations opposed to immigration enforcement in the city. Riach’s broader disclosure motion seeks additional investigative material beyond what the government has so far made public.