Department of Homeland Security agents conducted undercover surveillance of progressive organizations, labor unions and protest groups in the Minneapolis area earlier this year under a program called Operation Puppet Master, according to court documents filed Thursday in a federal case involving 15 people charged with impeding immigration enforcement.
Federal agents infiltrated church and library meetings under Operation Puppet Master, court documents show
Department of Homeland Security agents conducted undercover surveillance of progressive organizations, labor unions and protest groups in the Minneapolis area earlier this year under a program called Operation Puppet Master, according to court documents filed Thursday in a federal case involving 15 people charged with impeding immigration enforcement.
The 15 defendants were charged by federal prosecutors in June with conspiring against the federal government through actions described in the charges as ranging from throwing ice chunks to setting up blockades. Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen characterized the defendants as part of two groups he called 'antifa,' an umbrella term for a diffuse movement of militant left-wing activists.
Court documents show DHS officers infiltrated meetings held in churches, schools, parks and at least one public library. A Jan. 31 meeting at a Minneapolis library was attended by an undercover officer identified as 'UCA 9833,' who reported that supporters of the progressive climate organization the Sunrise Movement discussed sit-ins, de-escalation tactics and 'having a police liaison and safety marshal present during events.' The agent's report noted: 'During the Action meeting, it was made clear that the Sunrise Movement organization focused on peaceful protests.'
A slide prepared by DHS's investigative branch and titled 'The Conspiracy' listed 18 organizations, ranging from a small Minneapolis bicycle repair collective to the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor groups in the United States. The government also obtained years of financial records for groups including the Sunrise Movement, the Service Employees International Union and the Communications Workers of America. A DHS request to FedWire, a money transfer system operated by the U.S. Federal Reserve, told the recipient: 'You are requested not to disclose the existence of this summons for an indefinite period of time.'
A second, later operation referenced in the filings was called Project Whipple Shield. The documents were released Thursday in connection with a motion filed by defense attorney Kevin Riach, who requested that officials disclose more material collected during the investigations. DHS launched its Minneapolis-St. Paul immigration enforcement operation — which it called its 'largest immigration enforcement operation ever' — late last year, deploying about 3,000 federal officers to the area for roughly three months. The operation led to thousands of arrests, mass protests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens.
A DHS statement said Homeland Security Investigations does not comment on the existence or status of ongoing investigations or investigative methods, and referred questions to the U.S. attorney's office in Minnesota, which did not immediately respond to an after-hours email from The Associated Press.
- The source does not state the total number of people whose meetings, communications or financial records were monitored under the two operations.
- The source does not state what criminal evidence, if any, the surveillance produced beyond the 15 existing charges.
- The source does not state the precise dates Operation Puppet Master began or ended.
- The source does not state which of the 15 defendants are alleged to have attended the monitored meetings.
- The source does not state whether any of the organizations listed on the 'Conspiracy' slide have been charged or are targets of ongoing proceedings.
- The U.S. attorney's office in Minnesota had not responded to the AP's inquiry at the time of publication, so its position on the surveillance methods is not established.
Read the original at Associated Press