Federal prosecutors charged 15 people in connection with their involvement in protests against the Trump administration’s federal immigration enforcement operation, “Operation Metro Surge,” in Minneapolis, Minnesota, earlier this year.
The defendants, part of a group known as Direct Action Minnesota, have been charged with “conspiring to impede or injure federal officers” during the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation. Prosecutors also accused Direct Action Minnesota of being affiliated with antifa, attempting to prevent arrests and deportations during the operation and conspiring against the U.S. government.
U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said Direct Action Minnesota “infiltrated and exploited lawful protests to more efficiently carry out its unlawful direct actions, targeting operations involving ICE, as well as other federal law enforcement, and as well as other state law enforcement.”
Antifa, short for “anti-fascists,” does not have one centralized organization and is considered a broad ideology. Per The Associated Press, the term is used to describe far-left-leaning militant groups that oppose and confront neo-Nazis and white supremacy. While the Trump administration has identified antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, the legality of that designation has been under scrutiny.
According to the indictment, Rosen said the group worked closely with so-called Rapid Response Networks, or RRNs, to identify and track federal immigration officers in order to harass, confront and prevent officers from doing their official duties. Rosen said the group tracked the officers’ vehicles and license plate numbers before dispatching members to their locations.