The US Department of Justice accuses 15 activists in Minnesota for the activities of ‘antifa’ | Donald Trump News

The administration of the President of the United States Donald Trump announced the charges against 15 activists in Minnesota who are described as members of antifa, an organization that is not affiliated with “anti-fascist”.

At a press conference on Tuesday, US Attorney Daniel Rosen tied the charges to Trump’s directive last year to “combat domestic terrorism and political violence”.

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“Political violence is a national epidemic in our time,” Rosen said, before describing the charges.

It includes conspiracy to obstruct or harm public officials, solicitation of violence, threats to countries, evasion, assault on public officials and destruction of public property.

Twelve of the 15 defendants charged, Rosen added, were arrested Tuesday morning. Two were still there, and the third had already been arrested.

According to Rosen, both were connected to the activist group Direct Action Minnesota, formerly known as Twin Cities Direct Action.

The group protested the immigration crackdown that Trump approved in Minnesota from December to February.

Violation, so called Operation Metro Surgethey were widely criticized for excessive violence and questionable legal tactics, including a law that required no court approval before entering public housing.

In January, two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Prettyhe was shot dead as part of the operation, which outraged the world. Democrats have framed the entire project as a political rally against left-wing authorities.

“Operation Metro Surge was nothing but a show of force to intimidate states that voted for Trump,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. he wrote the second.

“Fortunately, the people of Minnesota showed the country what fighting for power looks like.”

Despite this change, the Trump administration will continue to seek indictments against prosecutors accused of obstructing federal law enforcement during Operation Metro Surge.

During Tuesday’s briefing, Rosen also sought to allay concerns that the latest move could be seen as an attack on broadcasters’ free speech rights.

“These defendants were not prosecuted for what they said, but for what they did. They all agreed to a conspiracy, a conspiracy, to interfere with the lawful employment of immigrants. The conspiracy was not to interfere with their speech, but to act on it,” Rosen said.

“This is a crime, and it will not be tolerated in the United States.”

However, the media pressed Rosen to answer whether the authorities were injured as a result of the actions of the 15 people.

One was asked if Rosen was describing “thought errors” as opposed to actual errors, borrowing a phrase from George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984.

Rosen responded by saying that the number of injured police officers “will be released during the trial”. He also dismissed the question as irrelevant.

“Whether they actually, at the end of the day, did physical harm is not what determines whether they did it or not,” Rosen said.

“And I dare say, we can’t in this country all the people get together, commit all these acts of violence and then just say, ‘Well, you know, no one was hurt, so how bad would it be?'”

Since taking office in 2025, Trump has faced ongoing questions about whether he used the Justice Department to suppress free speech during his second term.

In September, for example, he released Executive Order calling antifa a “domestic terrorist group”, accusing it of trying to overthrow the US.

Researchers, however, question the correctness of its appearance, saying that “antifa” is the main symbol of various “anti-fascist” groups, and not a single organized group. The Brennan Center for Justice, an advocacy group, said the law was an attempt to “criticize the opposition”.

But Tuesday’s case (PDF), which covers 94 pages, seeks to portray the 15 defendants as “antifa” supporters committed to instigating violence against government institutions.

It quotes another defendant, Cameron Kennedy, in a Facebook post, “NON-VIOLENCE WILL NEVER WIN. No one has. No one will. You need terrorists to win.”

It also describes the defendants stockpiling government vehicles, training protesters to use shields, and erecting barricades around the Bishop Henry Whipple Building, which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices.

Their purpose, according to the decision, was to “oppose, prevent or stop criminal activity, imprisonment and deportation”.

“Today’s indictment and arrest demonstrate the government’s greater efforts to combat lawless behavior that seeks to undermine the administration of federal law, endanger public safety and, most importantly, endanger the very communities these defendants falsely claim to protect,” Rosen said.

Tuesday’s criticism was not the first time the Trump administration has attempted to prosecute critics of Operation Metro Surge.

In late January, for example, the Justice Department sought the indictment of nine people, including a journalist. Don Lemonafter going to the protest that took place at the church.

This happened when the judge dismissed the first charges against them. By February, the Justice Department added 30 more people to the resolution, which accuses the participants of removing religious freedom.

But the Trump administration has faced obstacles in trying to prosecute such cases.

One of the 39 people accused of participating in the church protests, for example, had his charges dropped in March, after it was discovered that he was not there.

Other cases were dismissed for lack of evidence, or later false claims from the authorities have been revealed.