Claim: The U.S. Justice Department filed federal conspiracy charges against 15 members of the left‑wing group Direct Action Minnesota for stalking, harassing, and blockading ICE agents during anti‑deportation riots at a Minneapolis headquarters.
90%Fact-check result: Mostly accurate
- The U.S. Department of Justice did file federal charges against 15 members and associates of a group called Direct Action Minnesota (DAMN) for conspiring to impede ICE agents12.
- The charges include conspiracy to impede a federal officer, interstate stalking, interstate threats, assault on a federal officer, and destruction of government property12.
- The indictment describes defendants blockading the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, where ICE is headquartered in Minnesota, by flipping a trailer and forming human chains across roadways23.
- Two defendants are specifically charged with interstate stalking for following ICE officers from the Whipple Building to Hudson, Wisconsin23.
- The U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Daniel Rosen, announced the charges and stated the actions went beyond peaceful protest42.
- The characterization of the group as "left-wing" is consistent with their rhetoric and anti-ICE activism but is not the exact terminology used by prosecutors in official announcements23.
- The term "anti-deportation riots" is a loaded characterization; sources describe organized blockades, vehicle assaults, and stalking, but do not use the word "riots"342.
Overall validity: 90%