• 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.

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.

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“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.

“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.

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.

UNDATED (WJON News) — A strong surface low-pressure system will move through the region on Wednesday and will be the driver of scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon/early evening hours.

National Weather Service

Severe thunderstorms are possible across southern Minnesota, with the primary threat of large hail (~1.5″). Damaging winds and a few tornadoes are also possible.

St. Cloud has officially had 1.32 inches of rain so far in June, which is 0.53 inches below
normal.

Dry weather returns Thursday and most of Friday, but will be followed by storm chances for the first half of the weekend.

MINNEAPOLIS — The No. 2 Champlin Park Rebels (22-6) play the No. 4 Rosemount Irish (24-5) in the Minnesota high school baseball Class 4A state championship game on Monday at Target Field.

Neither team has won a baseball state championship in its history.

The Rebels have won both state championship games by one run. They defeated No. 7 Andover 3-2 in the quarterfinal before outlasting Edina 8-7 in extra innings in the semifinal. The Rebels are led by senior catcher Cal Ockuly, who was scheduled to be in San Diego on Monday for Marine Corps training, but he is allowed to play.

Rosemount won its two state championship games via blowout. They defeated No. 5 Monticello 11-2 in the quarterfinal, and they defeated No. 1 Farmington 11-1 in the semifinal. The Irish scored 12 runs the section final, so they’ve scored 34 runs in the past three games.

Junior outfielder Oliver Anderson had four RBIs in the semifinal win against Farmington.

High School On SI will have half-inning recaps and score updates throughout the game.

Rosemount vs. Champlin Park: Live Score Updates of 2026 Minnesota High School Baseball Class 4A State Championship

Refresh for the latest update.

Live score: Rosemount 0, Champlin Park 0 — Top 2nd

SECOND INNING

FIRST INNING — Champlin Park 0, Rosemount 0

Senior Evan Boll is pitching for Rosemount to begin the game.

Rosemount gets a runner two second base with two outs, but Vendel gets a strikeout for the final out.

Champlin Park’s Donovan Vendel throws the first pitch of the game, and we’re underway after a long rain delay.

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