The Justice Department announced an eight-count indictment on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, charging 15 members and associates of Direct Action Minnesota (DAMN), a Minneapolis-based group the DOJ describes as having Antifa ties.
According to prosecutors, DAMN allegedly operated an organized campaign targeting federal and local law enforcement. The charges include conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, interstate stalking, interstate threats, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, assaults on federal officers, and destruction of government property.
The Justice Department states Homeland Security Investigations arrested 12 DAMN members within the past 24 hours. Two members remain at large, and one is already in federal custody for separate charges. Prosecutors allege the group treated harassment of immigration enforcement as a craft, with members trained in shields, surveillance, event planning, role differentiation, and rapid mobilization against federal operations.
DOJ claims DAMN drew from subgroups including the Black Cat Worker’s Collective and the Ray Rainbolt Memorial Shooting Club. The indictment details two specific direct actions: one at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on January 23 and another on March 1. Members allegedly used hard blockades involving vehicles, trailers, Czech hedgehogs, and debris to disrupt law enforcement routes, alongside soft blockades with homemade shields to physically resist agents.
Prosecutors describe vehicle databases tracking federal law-enforcement vehicles, including license plate information and reported sightings. Examples cited in the indictment include a federal immigration officer allegedly followed into Wisconsin, a federal vehicle sideswiped by Natasha Rakotz, and a government vehicle kicked and dented by William Morgan.
DOJ notes the group’s activities extended beyond Minnesota, with members reportedly holding or joining Anarchist Speaking Tour events in Chicago, Ann Arbor, and Seattle in April 2026 to discuss obstructing immigration enforcement and coaching other groups. The case is part of the National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 initiative and Joint Task Force Vanguard, which targets organized political violence.
The Justice Department emphasizes that an indictment remains an allegation, with every defendant presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court. However, prosecutors assert that stalking federal officers, cataloging their vehicles, and barricading federal buildings constitutes a crossing from protest into alleged criminal activity.