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Federal prosecutors have charged more than 150 anti-ICE protesters in Minnesota with crimes ranging from obstruction of federal agents to FACE Act violations — offenses that carry penalties from fines to years in prison — as the Justice Department warns that similar conduct will be prosecuted aggressively nationwide.
The response in the state offers a roadmap of sorts for how the Justice Department could move to quash similar protests nationwide and respond to unrest during Trump’s second presidential term.
In Minnesota, more than 150 protesters have been arrested since the start of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation, “Operation Metro Surge,” including protesters who interrupted a church service, and others who blocked, assaulted, or attempted to otherwise restrict ICE officers in the state. The administration’s response to these protests could prove telling as it moves to deploy ICE officers to other states in the weeks and months ahead.
These individuals have been charged with FACE Act violations, conspiracy charges, and obstruction of federal agents, according to copies of criminal complaints and indictments reviewed by Fox News Digital. Convictions on any of these charges range from fines to years in prison, in a sign of the administration’s plans to crack down on similar protest tactics in other states.
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“We expect more arrests to come,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media last week.
In fact, individuals need not look much further than indictments the Justice Department has already secured against certain individuals as an indication of the behavior and actions it may seek to prosecute.
Bondi last week announced the arrests of 16 Minnesota protesters for “allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement — people who have been resisting and impeding our federal law enforcement agents.” According to a criminal complaint published by the Justice Department, the alleged actions include the use of multiple vehicles to “box in” federal immigration officers; spitting on ICE officers during an arrest; attempting to throw a brick at an ICE officer; and other obstructive and violent actions.
One individual allegedly followed Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in his van before approaching their vehicle with a baseball bat in hand.
Bondi said the 16 individuals in question have been charged with violating 18 U.S.C. § 111, which punishes any individual who “forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates or interferes” with officials engaged in carrying out their official duties.
Penalties for a conviction on the charge range from one year in prison to up to 20 years, depending on additional factors — including the involvement of a potentially dangerous weapon and whether bodily injuries were suffered. If additional violations are tacked on, the cases could carry longer sentences.
The Justice Department separately announced charges against nine individuals — including two journalists — last week for allegedly participating in the anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The individuals were seen in video chanting “ICE out,” and interrupting the service, as Fox News Digital previously reported. They were indicted on charges of allegedly conspiring to violate someone’s constitutional rights and FACE Act violations.
The FACE Act, passed in 1994, is a federal law that prohibits the use of force, intimidation, or obstruction to deliberately “injure, intimidate, or interfere” with an individual’s ability to exercise their right to religious freedom at a place of worship.
FACE Act violations carry penalties ranging from fines to prison time, depending on the severity of the violation alleged and other contributing factors.
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Senior Trump administration officials have warned anti-ICE protesters against obstructing or otherwise interfering with federal immigration officers, noting that they would not hesitate to pursue criminal charges against others found to be engaging in illegal behavior.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: NOTHING will stop President Trump and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law,” Bondi said last week.
In addition to the indictments already secured, the Justice Department could crack down on a wide range of behavior by anti-ICE protesters, including behavior documented by reporters and on social media, such as blocking ICE access to certain roadways, demanding that officers share identifying information before entering certain areas, or attempting to surveil, track, or share information about the movements of federal officers with members of the public.
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“People need to understand their actions have consequences and that obstruction, assault and impeding are not protected under the disguise of protesting,” John Condon, the acting director of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), said in a statement.
The warnings come as Minnesota has emerged in recent weeks as a flashpoint for immigration protests in response to the administration’s “Operation Metro Surge,” which saw the deployment of some 3,000 ICE officers to the state.
Tensions there soared to a new fever pitch last month following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were killed in separate confrontations with federal immigration officers. Homan said Wednesday that the Trump administration will remove 700 immigration enforcement officers from Minnesota, though he stressed the reduction is contingent on the lawfulness of anti-ICE protesters. An estimated 2,000 ICE officers will remain in the state for now.
“Protest but stop impeding, stop interfering, stop violating the law — because we will arrest you,” White House border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday.
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