Newly unsealed internal documents, entered into the public record Thursday in connection with a federal prosecution of 15 Minneapolis activists, reveal that the Department of Homeland Security ran a sweeping intelligence-gathering effort aimed at left-leaning groups and demonstrators opposing ICE. The materials were submitted to the court by a defense lawyer representing one of the accused individuals.
According to the files, DHS initiated a probe dubbed “Operation Puppet Master” back in January, targeting what it described as a “network of conspirators” working against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The inquiry unfolded during a period of heightened community mobilization in the area following the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
The paperwork details how federal agents went undercover at neighborhood gatherings across the Twin Cities and New York City, gained access to encrypted Signal conversations, and secured banking records tied to labor unions and progressive nonprofits. These actions, the documents suggest, were carried out under the authority of a Trump directive that labeled “antifa” a “domestic terrorist organization” allegedly fueling “riots” against ICE.
The underlying criminal case, initiated in June, charges the 15 protesters with conspiring to “impede” immigration officers during the administration’s heightened enforcement push. Prosecutors have alleged in court filings that organizations such as the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union, the Democratic Socialists of America, and Showing Up for Racial Justice were linked to the purported plot, though none of these entities face charges.
Among the surveillance activities described is an incident on January 31, when an undercover operative attended a Sunrise Movement “resistance skills training” session held at a Minneapolis public library. The operative’s report notes that activists talked about recruitment strategies and “de-escalation” techniques, while emphasizing a commitment to “peaceful” demonstrations. Posing as a construction worker, the agent offered to build equipment for “direct-action” events and remarked that “going to jail did not bother him.”
Separately, agents infiltrated Signal chat groups used by organizers. They also monitored a Hunter College virtual gathering in New York focused on “ICE brutality” and “responding to state violence,” along with a labor center meeting in Minneapolis, a park discussion on protest tactics, and a Direct Action Minnesota session held at a church. The records indicate that agents captured audio at these events and, at one church gathering, recorded vehicle license plates. When confronted by an attendee who asked whether they were with ICE, an agent denied it.
Through administrative subpoenas, DHS obtained wire transfer records involving SEIU, requested financial information from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York concerning the Communications Workers of America, and acquired banking data belonging to the Sunrise Movement.
Kevin Riach, the defense attorney who brought the records to light, expressed astonishment, saying he was “shocked at the scope and the apparent lack of investigative discipline involved, but not totally surprised.”
Neither DHS nor the Justice Department offered comments; the agency’s official stance is absent from the source material.
Civil liberties advocates have voiced alarm that these revelations point to the federal government using anti-“terrorism” measures to suppress legitimate political dissent.