Newly disclosed records reveal that the US government conducted extensive surveillance on prominent left-wing organisations and protesters as part of a vast operation targeting groups opposing immigration policies in Minnesota earlier this year.
Internal investigative reports show that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deployed undercover agents to community meetings in the Twin Cities and New York City. The agents infiltrated encrypted Signal chats and obtained financial records of mainstream unions and left-leaning non-profit groups.
Nearly 30 internal law enforcement reports were released on Thursday as part of a criminal case filed by the Department of Justice (DoJ) against 15 Minneapolis protesters. The defendants are accused of a "conspiracy" to "impede" US immigration officers during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement surge in the region.
The DHS investigative reports were disclosed by the government and subsequently submitted to the court by an attorney representing one of the defendants. The documents indicate that in January, DHS initiated an inquiry named "Operation Puppet Master" with the stated aim of identifying a "network of conspirators" organising against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
This operation coincided with a period of growing community organising against ICE in the region, which developed in response to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. A DHS report from February suggested the agency was investigating individuals who were "providing material support to violent opportunists and agitators." The records suggest agents launched elaborate spying efforts targeting activists, protesters, and established progressive organisations that opposed the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Kevin Riach, an attorney for one of the indicted protesters, who filed the tranche of records in federal court, commented: "I was shocked at the scope and the apparent lack of investigative discipline involved, but not totally surprised."
DHS spokespeople did not respond to inquiries regarding the disclosures, and the DoJ declined to comment.
The records suggest that these investigations aligned with a directive from a Trump executive order last year, which designated "antifa" as a "domestic terrorist organization" responsible for "riots" against ICE. These investigations ultimately led to the criminal case filed in June against 15 protesters. The case primarily focuses on Direct Action Minnesota, described by the government as a loose coalition of organisers allegedly involved in a "conspiracy" opposing ICE's operations in the region.
The documents also show that the government alleged major groups were connected to the criminal conspiracy, including the national labour unions AFL-CIO and Service Employees International Union (SEIU); local unions such as the Minneapolis Federation of Educators and the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees; and several large left-leaning groups, including the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ). None of these organisations have been charged with any crimes.
The revelations have intensified concerns among civil rights groups, who have argued that the federal government has been criminalising lawful protest activity under the guise of targeting left-wing "terrorism."
The documents detail how DHS investigators obtained financial records from unions and non-profits as part of an inquiry into "domestic terrorist financing." One investigative record revealed that DHS utilised administrative subpoenas to obtain "wire transfers from various financial institutions to and from" SEIU, one of the largest unions in the US. Investigators also requested financial data from the Communications Workers of America, an international union, from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, according to the records. DHS further obtained financial records related to the Sunrise Movement, a national non-profit focused on the climate crisis.
The records also provided detailed documentation of spying operations conducted by undercover agents who reportedly posed as activists and surveilled community activities. One DHS report documented "undercover agent activity" on 31 January at a Sunrise Movement "resistance skills training" held at the Minneapolis public library. An agent described activists discussing recruitment and "de-escalation" strategies at protests, with speakers suggesting the use of a "police liaison" and "safety marshal" at events. The report concluded: "It was clear that the Sunrise Movement organization focused on ‘peaceful’ protests."
According to the report, the undercover agent actively engaged with participants. At one point, the agent informed an attendee that he "works in construction and could build items that might assist other groups with more ‘direct-action’ protests." The agent reportedly told the individual that "going to jail did not bother him" and provided his phone number. The records also documented the operations of another undercover agent who joined Signal groups used by activists involved in protests.
Further records showed undercover agents surveilling a virtual meeting at Hunter College in New York that focused on "ICE brutality" and "responding to state violence." Other observed events included a meeting at a labour centre in Minneapolis where activists discussed a range of political issues, a meeting in a Minneapolis public park concerning protest tactics, and a Direct Action Minnesota meeting at a church. The documents indicate that agents made audio recordings of these events.
In one instance, an undercover agent attended a "training" event at a gymnasium within a church and participated in "boxing/sparring practice," according to a DHS report. The report noted that the agent was surreptitiously recording audio of the event, but at one point, the recorder "erroneously fell to the floor," requiring the agent to return to the gym to retrieve the device. At an anti-ICE event held at a church, agents documented the licence plate information of attendees, the records showed. When two agents were approached by a man who "asked if they were ICE," the agents reportedly responded, falsely, that they were not.
Mr Riach, the defence attorney, filed the records as part of a motion urging the court to compel the government to release additional documents. In his filing, Mr Riach accused the government of presenting "wild conspiracy allegations … born from the fantasies of political retribution that animate the Trump Administration." He further alleged that DHS’s investigations were part of a "mass spying campaign" and stated that undercover agents "participated in organizing and directing the groups they were surveilling, at times working to entice people into discussing or committing crimes."
The records relate to activities that extend far beyond the specific allegations faced by the 15 defendants in the ongoing prosecution. That case alleges a vast conspiracy to organise against ICE, yet across a 94-page indictment, there are no allegations of injuries to specific ICE officers caused by any defendants and no charges of serious violence.
Emilia Gonzalez Avalos, executive director of Unidos MN, a Minneapolis social justice non-profit group whose activities were mentioned in the files, expressed her view: "I believe that this is a clear attempt to intimidate us, to punish and politically repress disagreement and difference. And that is not the America that we have built through hundreds of years. And it’s definitely not the America that we are organizing for." She noted that during training sessions, organisers would ask people not to record, but would also state that immigration agents were welcome to stay, as their work was "entirely grounded in the United States constitution."
Mike German, a former FBI agent and civil liberties advocate, described it as "striking" that DHS was leading the investigations, given that the FBI typically spearheads operations targeting potential "terrorist" activity. He also highlighted the use of administrative subpoenas by DHS, which do not require judicial authorisation, to obtain records. Mr German suggested that the government appeared to be relying on theories of "guilt by association" to justify surveillance, rather than narrower investigations focused on specific alleged criminal activity.
Mr German, who previously served as an undercover agent, also questioned the necessity of undercover agents spying on what appeared to be accessible, community events. "You’re talking about meetings that are open to the public, where they are recruiting among the public, saying: ‘Please come to this protest,’" he said. "It’s hardly a challenge to ‘infiltrate’ this kind of meeting, and that should be a clue this isn’t a criminal group. It’s very rare for criminals to [publicise] discussion of their criminal activities."
He added that the investigations align with historical patterns in US history of the government targeting left-wing activist and labour organising. Post-9/11, he noted, powers to spy on communities were significantly expanded. "Nobody should be surprised that the government would use these authorities to target political opposition rather than target criminals, particularly so under this administration," Mr German concluded.
