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15 face federal charges that they blocked ICE agents in Minnesota

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15 face federal charges that they blocked ICE agents in Minnesota


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  • The Justice Department has charged 15 people in Minnesota with conspiring to impede immigration officers.
  • The defendants are part of two Minneapolis-based antifa groups, federal officials said.
  • Charges follow a period of heightened tensions and protests against an ICE crackdown in the state.

At a press conference in Minneapolis on Tuesday, June 16, the Justice Department announced criminal charges against 15 people for allegedly conspiring to impede or injure an officer during the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement immigration crackdown in Minnesota from about January to June of 2026.

Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said the alleged conspiracy related to efforts by two Minneapolis-based antifa groups that violently opposed law enforcement. “Antifa” is a collective term for an assortment of groups in an anti-fascist movement, which President Donald Trump in September designated as a major terrorist organization.

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“These defendants have been charged not for what they said, but for what they did,” Rosen said.

“They all joined an agreement, a conspiracy, to interfere with lawful immigration enforcement operations,” he added. “The conspiracy was not to interfere by their voice, but to do it by force.”

Lawyers for the defendants weren’t immediately identifiable.

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An indictment unsealed June 16 alleges the defendants tried to halt immigration enforcement operations with “hard blockades” such as wood, leaf blowers and vehicles to impede officer movement, and with “soft blockades” such as homemade shields to resist and wedge between officers.

One defendant, Kyle Wagner, is also charged with soliciting another person to commit a crime of violence. During the June 16 press conference, Rosen played a video that he said was of Wagner.

“My name is Kyle, I’m antifa, and there’s so much rage in me that I’ve had to record this, like, 15 times, trying to get the message out,” the man in the video said.

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“Not talking about peaceful protests anymore. We’re not talking about having polite conversations anymore,” the man said in the video, adding that he was speaking specifically to his followers.

“Get your f—— guns and stop these f—— people,” the man added.

Charges follow immigration crackdown and mass protests

In December, the Trump administration began a surge of thousands of federal agents to Minnesota as part of an immigration crackdown. That sparked heightened tensions in the state, with some locals organizing against the crackdown, including by using whistles to alert others to approaching immigration agents.

Interactions between federal immigration enforcement agents and protesters turned increasingly heated and even violent in January, after federal law enforcement shot and killed Minneapolis mother Renee Nicole Good while she was driving a car, and later shot and killed Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti, after tackling him and discovering a gun that, in videos of the incident, appeared to be secured in his waistband.

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On Jan. 16, FBI Director Kash Patel posted on social media that the FBI was working around the clock to crack down on “violent rioters.”

In February, the Trump administration announced an end to the surge.

Since then, the Justice Department has brought charges against dozens of defendants for allegedly interfering with or assaulting federal agents during the surge, but about a third of those cases have been dismissed, according to an analysis by The Minnesota Star Tribune.

Asked about cases that have been dismissed or failed in some way at the June 16 press conference, U.S. Attorney Rosen stood by the cases his office has brought.

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“I don’t think any cases have failed in any way, but I will tell you, read the indictment and you’ll understand the full magnitude of this case,” Rosen said.



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1 arrested after shooting injures 32-year-old man in Oakdale

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1 arrested after shooting injures 32-year-old man in Oakdale



Police are investigating after a man was arrested and another was injured in a shooting in Oakdale, Minnesota, on Thursday, according to officials.

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Officers responded to a home on the 700 block of Gershwin Avenue around 10:24 p.m. for a report of an individual suffering from a gunshot wound. Police at the scene said they found a 32-year-old man who had been shot in the abdomen. He was taken to the hospital in stable condition.

Witnesses, according to police, said the injured man was standing near a bonfire in the backyard of the residence when he was hit by gunfire. 

The officers weren’t able to find any suspects after they set up a perimeter and searched the area with help from several other law enforcement agencies.

Officials said police on Friday night arrested a 64-year-old Oakdale man in connection with Thursday’s shooting. Oakdale Police Chief Nick Newton said he was booked and later released.

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Vandals smash car windows in St. Louis Park neighborhood

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Vandals smash car windows in St. Louis Park neighborhood


Neighbors along a three-block stretch in St Louis Park, Minnesota, say vandals smashed car windows early Sunday morning along Quentin Avenue.

A spokesperson for the City of St. Louis Park said officers took 18 reports of vehicle tampering and stolen property around 5 in the morning. The city wouldn’t confirm how many cars were hit, but said the investigation is ongoing.

“I was just pulling out and I had to swerve and avoid all the glass on the street because most cars on this block had their windows smashed,” said Nachshown Fertel. 

While Fertel’s car wasn’t damaged, a car parked across the street was smashed across the windshield. Two others were missing windows. 

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“Obviously, it’s expensive to repair and we don’t know who did it,” Fertel said. “We all have Ring cameras, but since most of them were on the street, only a few people caught glimpses of it.”

Two blocks away, WCCO talked to a man with four damaged cars sitting outside his home. He said all the windows on his family cars were smashed early in the morning, but no one got away with anything valuable. He called the whole ordeal upsetting.

Aharon Harkavy spent part of Sunday cleaning up shattered glass in his driveway. He said neighbors have had issues with stolen cars and some break-ins in the past, but this string of damage felt like an escalation. 

“This needs to stop, the police need to really do something about it,” he said. 

Back in May, Minneapolis police were investigating a string of break-ins on the southwest side of the city.  That followed 30 cars hit by vandals in April over an 8-hour span. Last summer in Minneapolis, there were roughly 475 vehicle break-ins in 30 days between July and August. 

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Fertel said many of his neighbors in St. Louis Park attend the same synagogue and the community came together to help with repairs. 

“I went over to the rabbi and I said, ‘Can we start a fund?’” Fertel explained. “I got a few people to donate. We pulled together some funds to help people pay for the damage.”



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Twins 6, Yankees 1: A new morning in Twins Territory

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Twins 6, Yankees 1: A new morning in Twins Territory


Yesterday, Americans attended barbecues, tore around on jet skis, and partied under fireworks for the country’s 250th birthday. Or, they took their sister’s Goldendoodle on 12 miles worth of walks, then got takeout supper and continued a Star Trek: The Original Series re-watch (& checked in on the Rocky & Twilight Zone marathons). Freedom, and all that.

But as was once said about President Ronald Reagan, it’s a new morning in America. What would the sunrise bring for MN? Well, how about 250 years of Minnesota Twins dominance over the New York Yankees!

After boat-racing the Yanks yesterday, the Twins got off to a fast start in this contest too when New York SP Ryan Weathers’ first offering was slapped into RF by Austin Martin for a double. This was quickly followed by a newly-minted-All-Star Byron Buxton single and it looked like MN would never make an out against NYY again—until Kody Clemens K’d and Buck was caught stealing for the first time since 5/1/24. Ugh. You also won’t hear Buxton’s name again in this recap until the Duds (double ugh).

Fortunately, Josh “Liberty” Bell saved the rally with a ringing (heh, heh) single that NY RF Max Schuemann couldn’t quite reel in. 1-0 MN.

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As also-newly-minted-All-Star SP Joe Ryan looked sharp foiling Yankee bats in the early goings, the Twins went back on the attack in T4: a Royce Lewis walk led to his advance to 2B on a wild pitch which led to his coming around to score on a Brooks Lee base knock. 2-0 MN.

Right back on the attack in T5: the Twins loaded the bases with two outs and Lewis didn’t fall into the trap—instead knocking a solid single up the middle to drive two visitors across home plate! 4-0 MN.

Then, some circus baseball in T6: an Anthony Volpe error at shortstop…a horrible Luke Keaschall bunt that someone resulted in a hit…a bases-loaded walk to Martin…a well-struck Clemens sac fly. Boo birds were echoing through Yankee Stadium 3.0. 6-0 MN.

Meanwhile, the reason no Yankee offense has been discussed heretofore is because Ryan continued his Bronx brilliance. New York put a couple runners on base with two outs in B7, but our oh-so-much-more-than-average Joe made Amed Rosario look foolish on a filthy slider for this final line: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K.

Andrew Morris hurled a crisp, clean 8th inning, followed by Yoendrys Gomez losing the battle (shutout effort) but winning the war (ballgame) in the 9th.

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Your Final: Minnesota Twins 6, New York Yankees 1

The Twins exorcised some demons by winning road series against the Astros & Yankees (the latter of those the first time since 2014). A new morning, indeed! Time for Goldendoodle walk number two on the day—with a smile on my face all the way.



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