The Department of Justice on Tuesday announced a federal indictment against 15 members of a militant Antifa group who created blockades around a government building and forcibly obstructed federal officers to halt ICE operations in Minneapolis. Some were also accused of attacking agents and encouraging agitators to take up arms against “literal fucking Nazi gunmen.”
The defendants, two of whom are still at large, blocked the roadways surrounding the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building using trucks, flipped trailers, debris, and metal anti-vehicle obstacles known as Czech hedgehogs on January 23 and March 1, according to the indictment. Others carried human shields and formed a human wall to “physically resist the efforts of law enforcement, and to aggressively ‘wedge’ or break through teams of officers on foot.”
Operations detailed in the indictment spanned from January to June and include extensive planning through Signal messages meet-ups and “targeted trainings and ‘dry runs.'” The agitators stalked and surveilled federal officers and relied on a “Whipple Watch” surveillance program that involved photographing ICE vehicles and logging license plate numbers into a publicly accessible real-time database to help the group track and intercept federal agents. They also held “after-action reviews” to refine their methods.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Daniel Rosen said the agitators “infiltrated and exploited lawful protests to more efficiently carry out its unlawful direct actions targeting operations involving ICE, as well as other law enforcement and state law enforcement.”
“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,” Rosen said during a press conference Tuesday. “They all joined in agreement, a conspiracy, to interfere with lawful immigration enforcement operations. The conspiracy was not to interfere by their voice, but to do it by force.”
The defendants self-identified as Antifa and “revolutionary anarchists” in messages, meetings, and videos cited in the indictment. They’re also members of Direct Action Minnesota, a group that Rosen said has a “violent, militant approach to politics” and is “highly critical of nonviolent peaceful protests.”
“The organization trains its members in the aggressive use of shields against law enforcement, surveillance, operational planning, and rapid mobilization against law enforcement action,” Rosen said.
The 15 defendants were charged with conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers, which could result in up to six years in prison, but some face additional charges stemming from specific incidents. Natasha Rakotz, for instance, was accused of assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon—a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison—for intentionally sideswiping the officer’s vehicle on May 18, causing a collision.
Kyle Wagner faces counts of solicitation to commit a crime of violence and interstate threats after posting a video to Instagram calling for armed resistance against ICE.
“It’s time to suit up. Boots on the ground,” he said in the January 24 video while donning a bulletproof vest and providing cross streets near his home for agitators to rendezvous. “I’m not talking about peaceful protest anymore. We’re not talking about having polite conversations anymore.”
“Sorry, but welcome to America 2026, where the Second Amendment is the only thing that’s going to keep you fucking protected from literal fucking Nazi gunmen that are killing innocent people in the street with impunity,” he added. “Get your fucking guns and stop these fucking people.”
Wagner wasn’t the only defendant to call for violence. Cameron Kennedy posted a Facebook video condemning peaceful protesters for “attacking militant elements of the resistance and aiding the state against them.”
“YOU WILL NEVER WIN WITH NON-VIOLENCE ALONE,” he added.
In a separate post, he said, “”F**k these dumb f**k pacifists. They aren’t comrades, they are allies of the state.”
William Morgan and Isaac Auman Sant, meanwhile, followed a federal officer from the Whipple building to the vicinity of the officer’s Wisconsin home, prosecutors allege. Days later, Morgan approached another federal agent, knocked notes out of his hand, and kicked a government vehicle twice, causing dents. He was charged with interstate stalking, assault on a federal officer, and destruction of government property.
The indictment also alleges that several defendants participated in an “Anarchist Speaking Tour,” traveling to Chicago, Ann Arbor, and Seattle to share tactics and encourage other groups around the country to adopt similar methods against federal immigration enforcement. They detailed their operations, with one, Callum Robinet, calling rapid response networks “inherently militant” with the “explicit aim of combating and stopping a federal agent with a gun.”
Kennedy described the burning of the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct during the 2020 George Floyd riots as “the happiest moment of my life.”
The remaining defendants named in the indictment are Emmett James Doyle, Erik Davis, Brian Stillwell Apland, Hannah Margaret Van De Water Davis, Treasure Cay Thoreson, Nathan Junho Kim, Alec Stewart, Douglas Misterek, and Dustin Scott Beisell.
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