Minneapolis rallies against indictments of anti-ICE protesters

By Esper Garcia and Mira Altobell-Resendez

The following article appeared online June 18 at fightbacknews.org.

Minneapolis — On the morning of June 15, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against 15 anti-ICE protesters for “conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer” and other bogus charges. That same morning, 12 out of the 15 protesters had their homes raided and were arrested in relation to the federal indictment.

After the arrests, the DOJ held a press conference where U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen claimed that the accused had assaulted a federal officer and destroyed government property, among other charges. When asked, Rosen did not respond to any questions regarding the injuries or the number of agents injured by the indicted or about the investigations of the federal agents who killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

In response to the outrageous charges, the Minnesota chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) announced an anti-repression press conference at the same time as the DOJ conference. As part of the press conference, attorney Nekima Levy-Armstrong and other community organizers spoke in solidarity with those arrested.

Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) member Montana Hirsch stated that MIRAC “stands in unwavering solidarity with all anti-ICE protesters,” further stating that “protesting is not a crime, and protesting ICE is the right thing to do.”

After the press conference, NLG put out another call for the community to show up at 1:30 p.m. to the Federal Building in Saint Paul to pack the court for the first hearing of the arrestees. Dozens showed up to demand the release of the arrestees.

When the courtroom filled to capacity, the officials refused to offer an overflow room for additional viewing, and the U.S. Marshals deployed chemical irritants on the crowd for trying to enter the building in support of the wrongfully indicted. This did not deter the community from remaining steadfast in their solidarity.

The People’s Action Coalition Against Trump (PACAT) and MIRAC held a rally outside the courthouse at 5 p.m. and remained until the arrestees were released. One hundred people remained on the plaza of the federal courthouse six hours after the start of the previous action and after the brutality by the U.S. Marshals.

Drew Harmon of the Minnesota chapter of 50501 told the crowd: “They want us to back down. This is to instill fear in us, so we have to do the opposite. Since Metro Surge officially ended, we’ve been seeing a drop-off in rapid response, in mutual aid, in food delivery. People, now is the time to get back involved!”

Jess Sundin from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) spoke at the rally: “The 15 people who were indicted this morning are us. They are rapid responders. They are protesters. They are organizers — They are you, and they are me.” She also went on to say: “They stood with us. Minnesota said no to ICE, no to the targeting of our immigrant neighbors.”

Other speakers included representatives from About Face: Veterans Against the War, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice, Minnesota Anti-War Committee, Sunrise Movement Twin Cities and Democratic Socialists of America.

Community members chanted until all 12 people who were able to be released the same day were allowed to leave, but with stipulations restricting their further participation in protests and communication with organizers.