Federal prosecutors have unsealed a sweeping indictment against 15 members and associates of a Minneapolis-based direct-action organization that authorities say spent months organizing, training, and carrying out coordinated efforts to obstruct Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations through intimidation, harassment, property destruction, and violence.
According to the Department of Justice, the defendants are affiliated with Direct Action Minnesota, or DAMN, a group authorities describe as deeply connected to local Antifa organizations and anarchist networks.
Federal officials allege the organization operated far beyond traditional protest activity, functioning instead as a highly organized rapid-response network dedicated to disrupting federal immigration enforcement operations.
The charges are extensive. Defendants face allegations including conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers, interstate stalking, interstate threats, solicitation to commit crimes of violence, assaults on federal officers, and destruction of government property.
Federal authorities arrested 12 suspects during coordinated raids, while two remain at large and another was already in federal custody on unrelated charges.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described the operation as an organized campaign of political violence.
“As alleged, these defendants, which included members of Antifa groups, engaged in an unrelenting campaign of harassment and violence targeting federal and local law enforcement,” Blanche said. “Their actions created a dangerous environment that threatened not only their intended targets, but the community as a whole.”
According to the indictment, DAMN members trained for confrontation, maintained encrypted communication networks, practiced operational security measures, and organized specialized teams responsible for surveillance, transportation, communications, and direct-action deployment.
Members allegedly used Signal chat groups to track federal agents, monitor government vehicles, catalog license plate information, and coordinate rapid mobilization efforts whenever ICE operations were identified.
Federal investigators say the organization developed what it called “hard blockades” and “soft blockades.”
Hard blockades allegedly involved the use of trailers, vehicles, metal obstacles, and other equipment designed to physically block roads and prevent federal officers from entering or leaving government facilities.
Soft blockades relied on coordinated shield formations and physical resistance tactics aimed at overwhelming law enforcement officers on foot.
Prosecutors say these tactics were deployed during organized efforts to shut down operations at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Authorities further allege that members engaged in what they called “commuting” operations, in which federal immigration officers were followed from government facilities to private locations.
Investigators claim suspects tracked officers across state lines, monitored their movements, and attempted to interfere with enforcement activities in real time.
In one incident described in the indictment, a defendant allegedly rammed a federal officer’s government vehicle after following him from a federal facility.
The indictment also paints a picture of a broader ideological movement extending beyond Minnesota.
Federal prosecutors allege DAMN members traveled to cities including Chicago, Ann Arbor, and Seattle as part of what participants called an “Anarchist Speaking Tour.”
During those events, members reportedly trained activists on tactics for obstructing immigration enforcement operations and discussed methods for disrupting federal law enforcement activities.
Prosecutors cite statements made by participants identifying themselves as anarchists and revolutionaries while promoting direct confrontation with federal authorities.
The Justice Department specifically identified links between DAMN and the Black Cat Worker’s Collective, a Minneapolis-based Antifa affinity group that openly promotes revolutionary politics, militant organizing, and direct action tactics.
Federal investigators also recovered Antifa-related materials from at least one defendant during an earlier arrest.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin issued a blunt warning following the arrests.
“The arrests of these rioters is a win for law and order,” Mullin said. “If you lay a hand on law enforcement, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Federal officials emphasized that the case is not about peaceful protest.
Investigators repeatedly stated that Americans retain the right to protest government policies and immigration enforcement decisions.
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