By Janice Hisle
Contributing Writer
Fifteen suspects are accused of conspiring with two Minneapolis-based Antifa groups to violently interfere with federal immigration enforcement, authorities announced on Tuesday.
Daniel Rosen, who heads the U.S. attorney’s office for Minnesota, told news reporters at his Minneapolis headquarters that agents arrested 12 of the 15 suspects; one was already in custody for other offenses. Two remained at large.
The defendants are charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, interstate threats, interstate stalking, assault on a federal officer, and destruction of government property.
A group called “Direct Action Minnesota” is tied to many of the alleged offenses, Rosen said.
The announcement comes months after President Donald Trump’s administration announced that it was probing Antifa groups.
Antifa, short for “antifascist,” is a far-left extremist group that originated under the Soviet Union and functioned as the violent wing of Germany’s Communist Party to target political rivals. Antifa adherents label their enemies as “fascists” and often say they will use “any means necessary” to stop people from spreading messages they oppose.
Trump had issued a directive to disrupt and dismantle Antifa, which he designated a “domestic terrorist organization” in September 2025. The following month, Trump held a roundtable discussion with journalists and commentators who alleged that Antifa targeted them with threats or violence.
Minnesota became a hotbed of resistance against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, sometimes involving Antifa, after federal agencies ramped up immigration enforcement in that state. That happened partly in response to accusations that networks of immigrants were defrauding government programs on a large scale.
In two separate January incidents, ICE opponents Renee Good and Alex Pretti were fatally shot by federal agents during protests, but there was no reported Antifa connection to either of those shootings.
