Seven of the Minnesota 15 Defendants Speak on Indictments

Unicorn Riot interviewed seven of the Minnesota 15 to hear about their involvement in the historic immigrant-defense movement that led to them becoming political targets of the federal government. The

Minneapolis, MN — In June of 2026, 15 Minnesota-based activist organizers were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on charges of conspiring to “impede or injure” federal officers during mass protests against the deadly deportation surge led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Unicorn Riot interviewed seven of the Minnesota 15 — Isaac Sant, Emmett Doyle, Cam Kennedy, Cal Robinet, Gabriel Van De Water, Treasure Thoreson, and Mac Stewart — over the course of the Summer to hear about their involvement in the historic immigrant-defense movement that led to them becoming political targets of the federal government.

The indicted include teachers, professors, union workers, electricians, and wildlife managers, among other careers. All are Minnesota residents and most of them have a longtime experience in local community activism; a common thread that defense lawyers stress is the real reason for the indictments.

The prosecution claims that the accused were part of two local organizations known as Direct Action Minnesota (DAMN) and the Black Cat Workers Collective that “emphasize a violent, militant approach to politics and are highly critical of non violent peaceful protest.” This is according to Trump’s U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Daniel Rosen who announced the charges during a June 16 press conference.

Rosen went on to claim that the defendants were being charged “not for what they said, but what they did,” and that his office will introduce “video and eyewitness accounts” as primary sources in court.

Federal Indictment on Minnesota 15 Peddles DOJ ‘Antifa’ Conspiracy Angle After Raids

Court documents from only a fraction of the government’s evidence already reveal that ICE is running Operation Puppet Master, likely the largest surveillance operation in U.S. history. See Unicorn Riot’s deep-dive video on some of the initial court documents made public.

A large amount of encrypted text message data is also being disseminated by the prosecution team and expected to be used in court. Much if not all of this data appears to have been gleaned from undercover HSI agents who joined the myriad of public Signal text groups created by local community organizers to coordinate protests against the ICE-led Operation Metro Surge.

Government surveillance of the defendants extended beyond Minnesota as it was recently reported that Chicago-area cops assisted Homeland Security in monitoring a multi-state organizing tour attended by some of the defendants and sponsored by the Anarchist collective Crimethinc. The same report by Wired reveals that Homeland Security agents monitored other tour events in Michigan and Seattle.

Mass surveillance utilizing artificial intelligence in facial recognition cameras has also been deployed against protesters. A photo that defendant Isaac Sant uploaded to a Signal group depicting his wounds after being struck in the face by a crowd-control munition was used to build a dossier on him. Said photo was run through a Clearview AI search and falsely linked his identity to a completely unrelated person. It isn’t the first time that said technology has produced false results, increasing calls from privacy advocates to ban the technology all together.

Out of the hundreds of thousands of people involved in anti-ICE protests, the government has taken particular aim against prominent local left-wing organizers it perceives as leaders of a grand political conspiracy against the state.

One of the Minnesota 15 and a special education teacher, Treasure Thoreson, elaborated to UR: “I think this is meant to be chilling. Pretty much everyone who was arrested is someone involved in labor organizing … This was a threat to the federal government who does not want to see us getting along and supporting each other.”

Emmett Doyle, also a co-defendant and a union organizer added, “the most powerful thing that people in Minneapolis did to oppose Operation Metro Surge was the general strike, and they [the government] needed to try to get rid of the people who they think helped organize it … I think that’s why they worked so hard to construct this narrative around what are actually quite normal protest activities.”

Union electrician and Minnesota 15 defendant Cal Robinet said plainly that they felt the charges were “retaliation” from the government for their “political beliefs, for activities as union organizers and for existing as queer people in this world.”

“This is a naked attempt to silence our voices, to squash dissent and to have a chilling effect on organizing here in the Twin Cities,” said Minnesota 15 defendant and healthcare worker Isaac Sant.

“It’s about quelling dissent in Minneapolis. And it’s about coming after the movement that rose up against ICE during Metro Surge in December and January.”

Charged in Anti-ICE Conspiracy, Two Minnesota Defendants Speak Out

Out of the 15 defendants that the prosecution and the White House appears to have taken particular aim at, is Kyle Wagner. He is the only defendant currently in federal prison for separate charges relating to a online dispute between him and far-right agitator Jayden Scott.

Wagner, who used his social media accounts to call for community defense, was apprehended by a large group of masked, and heavily armed federal agents, who were in turn confronted by a group of people who showed up in response to the raid on February 5 in south Minneapolis. He was subsequently granted bail by a pre-trail judge, but that decision was overturned by the sixth circuit at the direction of the DOJ. Wagner’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court for his immediate release was rejected earlier this month on unexplained grounds.

Most of the defendants were arrested on June 16, the day the charges were announced, while Wagner was in jail two others turned themselves in days later.

Kennedy, Doyle, Callum and Sant, in particular, recounted dramatic arrest scenes resembling something out of a movie.

“I woke up to the pounding cop knock, I rushed to grab some clothing, and I went to the front door, and there was just a rifle pointed right at my face. I opened up the door, and I was given a bunch of conflicting commands. And then they handcuffed me and they took me out barefoot into the rain. I had to walk down the broken glass alleyway barefoot until they got me into an SUV.”

Helicopters, armored convoys and swarms of masked federal officers in military tactical vests were also deployed for these particular arrests.

A massive and expensive show of force that Kennedy says was more about theatrics than public safety, “they wanted to get this dramatic footage that cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in investigation. To my co-defendant’s house [Sant and Robinet], they sent two helicopters on top of a fleet of SUVs. This was a very expensive operation.”

Kennedy says that his partner was also apprehended and that despite the surveillance, the feds apparently didn’t know they were a couple despite being together for over 11 years.

Kennedy said they tried to get him to snitch on his co-defendants. “They loosened my cuffs and put them in front of me, started playing nice,” Kennedy said, “then they gave me a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation on some of the discovery that they were using. And this was all in an attempt to get me to turn over evidence on my friends. And then I told them I’m obviously not going to cooperate or talk without a lawyer, and I’m going to reserve my right to remain silent.”

When asked how the indictments affected them personally, all said they had suffered some kind of psychological trauma and, or, material damage.

Yet, many noted they were also encouraged that the government’s crackdown was an indication that their actions were having a positive impact in their ultimate goal to halt deportations.

Indeed, even Rosen, the head prosecutor himself, acknowledged that activists had been partially successful in achieving their goals stating, “DAMN members shut down federal operations at the Whipple building a government building just north of the Minnesota-St. Paul airport and the main hub for several federal agencies.”

Recently, judges have lifted all of the no-contact orders that the defendants were straddled with, allowing the 15 to speak with each other as they await trial. Many of them are close friends and some are roommates.

An evidentiary hearing was held on Oct. 20 and subsequent hearings are expected to occur in coming months, but the sheer amount of evidence still being disseminated could possibly see the entire court process drag well into 2028.

Despite the considerable costs and uncertainty over the legal process, the defendants maintain an air of defiance and optimism, buoyed by considerable community support and absolute conviction that their actions were demonstrably legal and justifiable.

Co-defendant Mac Stewart echoed these sentiments, adding that “humans deal with chaos and tragedy pretty well when we lean into each other. It’s intrinsic to our DNA … So I just want to see more of that. As far as what the government can offer, I expect nothing besides more repression.”

“The combination of being able to be in custody with my co-defendants and share in that moral support, and then be able to go home and receive the support of friends and family made a really big difference in my initial response to that situation, as jarring as it was.” added Van De Water.

As the case reaches six months old, the support continues to grow. Kennedy along with defendant and professor Erik Davis have expressed gratitude for the additional support they’ve received from neighbors and coworkers.

Numerous community groups have held solidarity events, fundraisers and rallies for the Minnesota 15 defendants.

A benefit concert titled Abolish ICE is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hook & Ladder in South Minneapolis. The concert will feature Nur-D, Isavela Lopez, Brandyn Lee Tulloch & Poetic Roots and emceed by Fanaka Nation.

Cover image by Dingane Xaba for Unicorn Riot. Niko Georgiades contributed to this report for Unicorn Riot.

Click the image to see all UR coverage of federal law enforcement operations in MN.

Watch Unicorn Riot’s videos from ICE in Minnesota in playlist below.

Please consider a tax-deductible donation to help sustain our horizontally-organized, non-profit media organization: