Defending the Minneapolis 15

“ON TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2026 the federal government attempted to repress our movement against state repression by targeting 15 Twin Cities organizers with conspiracy charges.

“These comrades struggled alongside us during Operation Metro Surge. Some organized for decades before that, and some even pay dues to thi organization (Minnesota Nurses Association — ed.).

“They were targeted not just for their actions, but because of their political beliefs. We cannot and will not abandon them.

“When the fascist state comes for our neighbors or our comrades, we link arms and stand firm. We do not stay silent — we do not give them an inch. Silence is complicity.

“SOLIDARITY IS FOREVER.”

Minnesota Nurses Association President Chris Rubesch spoke to the crowd outside the Minneapolis 5 arraignment, along with other rank and file labor leaders.

In the wake of the charges against the Minneapolis 15 defendants, a massive Homeland Security surveillance “Operation Puppet Master” has come to light, targeting a vast range of social justice, church and labor groups and activist individuals.

Much of this “evidence” from warrantless searches will be subject to lengthy court challenges. As of mid-August, no trial date has been set.

A June 20 press release issued by the Ray Rainbolt Memorial Shooting Club (RRMSC), “a labor- and LGBT-focused shooting club that welcomes people from all walks of life who believe in the natural rights of personal and community self-defense” that was named in the 94-page indictment, stated:

“It’s no secret that the majority of those on trial are union organizers being targeted for the alleged actions on the day of ‘No work, no school, no shopping.’ Fifteen people have been charged in this case so far, though at this standard of evidence the number of co-conspirators might be closer to 150,000…

“Unlike the Department of Homeland Security, RRMSC has never been credibly accused of attacking other human beings. The massive and violent raids on the homes of several of our LGBT members is blatant retaliation against union organizers and the queer community for exercizing their Second Amendment rights.”

As the Trump administration pursues its openly stated agenda to pursue and criminalize the entire left and social justice movement, the Minneapolis indictments need to be seen in the light of other prosecutions, including the charges leveled earlier this year against the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Former SPLC director Heidi Beirich has now been charged with “wire fraud and bank fraud” regarding the Center’s payments to informants inside violent white-supremacist and neonazi organizations.

An extensive July 10, 2026 article in The Guardian is titled “The Trump administration is charging these Minneapolis protesters with conspiracy. Organizers won’t back down.” It details the charges and the context leading to them, explaining “the defendants’ charges stem not from one specific incident, but from coordinating with rapid response groups to alert people to ICE agents and organizing blockades at the city’s ICE headquarters.”

In plain language, then, the indictments are an act of government revenge against those successful mass mobilizations — not violent assaults or destructive actions — that forced ICE to end the high-visibility Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities. That’s the reality behind calling the defendants “Antifa” or any other scary label.

During the Minneapolis reign of ICE terror, the murders of protesters Rene Good and Alex Pretti had stunned the nation and the world. In the wake of these and other incidents, Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem was fired and “border czar” Tom Homan announced that the reckless and deadly practice of vehicle pursuits would end.

That policy change in turn was immediately cancelled on the orders of His Majesty Donald Trump. Now, ICE agents are to be outfitted with electric-shock gloves that can be expected to inflict even more damage.

The Minneapolis, Chicago and Prairieland indictments must be seen as a continuation of the government’s rampage against immigrant communities and their allies, and an intention to further escalate.

September-October 2026, ATC 244

Also read Randy Furst’s article on the surveillance behind the Minneapolis indictments.