Fifteen individuals have been indicted for their efforts to hinder federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.
“All 15 individuals are charged with conspiracy to impede or injure an officer,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced. “Some face additional charges including solicitation to commit a crime of violence, interstate threats, interstate stalking, destruction of government property, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees.”
“The arrests of these 15 rioters is a win for law and order. If you lay a hand on law enforcement, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement. “We have ZERO tolerance for violence against our law enforcement. If you assault or obstruct law enforcement, you will face the consequences.”
“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. Their actions created a dangerous environment that threatened not only their intended targets, but the community as a whole,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “These arrests demonstrate the Department’s commitment to law and order and stopping organized political violence in Minneapolis and beyond.”
“Today’s charges and arrests reflect a broad federal effort to address organized, lawless behavior, which seeks to disrupt the execution of federal law, endanger law enforcement, and, importantly, endanger the very communities that these defendants falsely claim to be protecting,” U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said during a press conference.
President Trump signed an executive order last year formally designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. The order directs federal agencies to investigate, disrupt, and prosecute Antifa-linked activity, accusing the movement of orchestrating violence, suppressing free speech, and undermining U.S. institutions.
