The Justice Department on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, announced an eight-count indictment charging 15 members and associates of Direct Action Minnesota, a Minneapolis-based group DOJ describes as having Antifa ties.
The group goes by DAMN. According to prosecutors, it allegedly ran an organized campaign against 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.
Under President Trump, the message is getting sharper: blocking roads, chasing agents, and trying to shut down federal operations can bring federal charges.
15 members and associates of Direct Action Minnesota (DAMN) have been charged with various federal crimes, including conspiracy to impede a federal officer, multiple counts of interstate stalking, interstate threats, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, multiple counts of… pic.twitter.com/VfGoFLiVX7
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) June 16, 2026
The Justice Department says Homeland Security Investigations arrested 12 DAMN members over the prior 24 hours. Two members remained at large, and one was already in federal custody on separate charges.
DOJ alleges the group treated harassment of ICE as a craft. Members were trained in shields, surveillance, event planning, role differentiation, and rapid mobilization against immigration enforcement actions.
Prosecutors say DAMN drew from several subgroups, including the Black Cat Worker’s Collective and the Ray Rainbolt Memorial Shooting Club.
They allegedly worked with rapid response networks to identify, harass, and stop federal officers from doing their jobs.
Coordination ran through Signal chats, regular meetings, and operational-security practices, according to the indictment.
DOJ points to two specific direct actions, one on January 23 and one on March 1, at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building.
Prosecutors say members used hard and soft blockades to try to shut down operations.
The hard blockades allegedly involved vehicles, trailers, Czech hedgehogs, and debris dumped across roads used by law enforcement.
The soft blockades allegedly used homemade shields to physically resist officers and wedge through teams of agents on foot.
Then there are the commuting tactics.
DOJ says members identified, followed, surveilled, harassed, and confronted federal immigration enforcement to block the enforcement of federal immigration law.
Prosecutors describe vehicle databases built to track federal law-enforcement vehicles, including license plate information and reported sightings.
That is the level of organization DOJ is alleging.
The examples named in the indictment are specific.
A federal immigration officer was allegedly followed into Wisconsin. A federal vehicle was allegedly sideswiped by Natasha Rakotz.
A government vehicle was allegedly kicked and dented by William Morgan.
The reach went beyond Minnesota, according to DOJ.
Members allegedly held or joined Anarchist Speaking Tour events in Chicago, Ann Arbor, and Seattle in April 2026, where they discussed obstructing immigration enforcement and effectively coached other groups.
🚨 BREAKING: DOJ announces charges against 15 members of left-wing anti-ICE group Direct Action Minnesota for allegedly 'surveilling, harassing, and confronting' federal agents
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 16, 2026
DOJ listed 15 defendants in the indictment, including people charged with conspiracy counts, stalking counts, assault counts, property-damage counts, threats, and solicitation to commit a crime of violence.
The case is part of the National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 initiative and Joint Task Force Vanguard, the broader federal effort against organized political violence.
DOJ is clear that an indictment is only an allegation.
Every defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and these charges still have to be proven in court.
But the message from the Justice Department is plain.
DOJ’s theory is direct: stalking federal officers, cataloging their vehicles, and barricading a federal building crosses from protest into alleged crime.
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