Fifteen protesters in Minnesota face a series of charges, including conspiracy to obstruct or injure federal agents, assault on a federal agent and destruction of government property, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security announced Tuesday.
The charges stem from protests against the Trump administration’s massive immigration enforcement operation in and around Minneapolis earlier this year.
Protesters are accused of using multiple tactics during two days of protests to disrupt federal immigration enforcement, including using vehicles and blocks of ice to block or slow agents’ vehicles outside a federal detention center, and using homemade shields made of plastic, wood and metal to “physically resist law enforcement’s efforts,” Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said at a news conference.
“They all joined in an agreement, a conspiracy to interfere with lawful immigration enforcement operations. The conspiracy was not to interfere with their voice, but to do so by force, that is a crime, and it will not be tolerated in the United States,” Rosen said.
Twelve of those charged were arrested in an operation Tuesday morning, one was in custody and two remained at large, he said.
Rosen declined to say whether any police officers were injured during the Jan. 23 and March 1 protests.
“Whether or not they actually caused, ultimately, bodily harm is irrelevant to whether or not they committed a serious federal crime,” Rosen said.
Rosen also said protesters were following and monitoring law enforcement.
Rosen said the defendants were associated with two “Minneapolis-based antifa groups” and showed a video in which one defendant claimed that term.
“Antifa”, short for “anti-fascist” is a generic term for loosely affiliated far-left activists and groups. It is more like an ideology than an organization, although some have adopted militant tactics.
Renee Good was a mother of young children and Alex Pretti was a nurse in an intensive care unit.File Stephen Maturen/Getty ImagesThe Trump administration sent 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota in late November for the immigration enforcement operation dubbed Metro Surge. Tensions flared over aggressive tactics by federal agents, including the use of pepper spray on crowds and the use of force against civilians.
During the months of the operation, crowds of observers and activists would often quickly gather at the site of immigration enforcement operations, whistling and honking horns to warn others of the presence of ICE and Border Patrol agents throughout the city.
Amid the crackdown, immigration authorities shot dead two American citizens — Renee Good, 37, a mother of young children, and Alex Pretti, 37, an intensive care unit nurse at a local Veterans Affairs hospital — in separate confrontations. The killings, which were filmed at the scene, sparked a wave of outrage and massive protests across the country. The deaths also drew sharp criticism from Democrats and some Republican lawmakers.
Clashes between federal agents and protesters regularly took place in front of the Bishop Henry Whipple federal building in Minneapolis.Charly Triballeau / AFP – Getty ImagesOver the past two months, Minnesota prosecutors have charged two ICE agents in separate incidents related to allegations of violence against civilians.
Last month, a ICE officer accused of lying about incident in which he shot Venezuelan in January was charged with four counts of assault and falsely reporting a crime in Minnesota. Prosecutors allege the officer fired through the front door of a residence “with the intent to cause fear of immediate bodily harm or death to the four adults who were just inside the door,” Hennepin County Prosecutor Mary Moriarty said in a news conference at the time.
The officer was arrested last month in Texas.
In April, another ICE agent was charged with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. The officer was accused of pointing a gun at the heads of two civilians in a vehicle, Moriarty said at the time. That officer turned himself in and had an initial court date in May.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment after either arrest.
The incidents occurred during DHS’s three-month immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota.
In the weeks following the killings, the Trump administration’s border czar, Tom Homan, arrived to take over for Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who was relieved of his title and returned to his former role as sector chief in El Centro, California. before retiring. Homan announced in February the end of the effortwhich he said led to the arrest of thousands of people. Arrests of immigrants in and around Minneapolis continued.