U.S. investigated left-leaning groups during Minnesota immigration crackdown

newsAug 13, 2026172,509

The New York Times, in reporting by Alan Feuer and Ernesto Londoño, says federal agents surveilled Minnesota activists and left-leaning organizations during the state immigration enforcement operation, infiltrating private group chats and seizing years of financial records from groups that were never accused of crimes. The story ties the inquiry to the months-long federal presence accompanying immigration crackdowns in Minnesota and cites comparisons in the reporting to the FBI’s COINTELPRO program. Sample reactions quoted in coverage include Harry Jacobs, former chief of the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office criminal justice section, who said prosecutors must follow the facts and the law rather than select targets and work backward, and the Sunrise Movement’s executive director, who said agents repeatedly broke the law while ordinary people exercised First Amendment rights. Several posts noted that after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti the administration did not investigate Border Patrol agents but instead opened a probe of organizations that opposed enforcement. The reporting has produced public calls for investigations and legal scrutiny from civil liberties advocates and former prosecutors, and has put Minnesota candidates for governor and Congress under pressure to state how they will protect First Amendment rights.

Governor Tim Walz

@governorwalz.mn.gov

Trump is treating the justice department like a gang of thugs to sic on anyone he disagrees with - labor unions, democratic groups, political opponents. It’s incumbent on all Americans to stand against this desecration of our basic liberties. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/u...

13055h ago

Rusty Zipper7

Can you imagine the things we don't know about? (shudder)

Suzan Cee ☀️6

Like Kamala warned the entire country about in 2024?

fedupwiththis.bsky.social4

Pretty sure @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social and @schumer.senate.gov are already sharpening their pencils to write sternly worded letters. In two weeks.

Steph K3

I will truly miss your guidance, Governor Walz.

Time Spinner2

Cause for removal per ipse.

Jenn2

I think they ride you because they know you actually won and Elon fucked us

Harry Litman

@harrylitman.bsky.social

When this gets to court—and it will- it’s going to be entertaining seeing how the government defends as neutral and not viewpoint based. U.S. Investigated Left-Leaning Groups During Minnesota Immigration Crackdown www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/u...

6005h ago

Bluebagger572

Just like Communists do. Putin would be so proud of Trump.

Skibidi Rat1

There’s a fund for that.

Mary David Teater1

Well, we need to get the couple that the Fort Worth, Texas Federal judge Reid O’Connor sentenced a protester and her husband who wasn’t even at the protest. They were charged with something disturbing the piece and then they added a terrorism charge. Sentenced to 70 years. That’s fucked up.

melaniej49.bsky.social1

Is it now criminal to be left- leaning and participate in a public assembly? Wake- up Americans. This is not democracy.

Quoting this

bmaz4

I wonder how and when Litman thinks this will "get to court".

WingsNDNSilver3

They'll just invoke "terrorism!" like they always do, and this crop of courts [judges] will likely let them.

Jane2

LET THERE BE LAWSUITS. JUST HOW UNCONSTITUTIONAL CAN THESE TRUMP FASCISTS BE?

Clara Jeffery

@clarajeffery.bsky.social

Holy shit this is like some serious Church Committee level shit. gift link 🎁 www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/u...

3364h ago

Clara Jeffery89

2/ The feds targeted Sunrise, SEIU and other unions, and various other left-leaning groups. As part of "Operation Puppet Master" eventually indicted 15 people as being part of "antifa" : www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/u...

Feena van1

This is not the first time the government has done something like this. bsky.app/profile/feen...

Quoting this

Will Bunch104

The government just released COINTELPRO Pro

Khashoggi's Ghost103

Four days after Alex Pretti was fatally shot, DHS quietly opened an investigation. The target was not the agents who had killed Mr. Pretti, but labor unions, a climate change group, socialists, groups they claimed had provided help and money to “violent opportunists and agitators” on the street.

Rev Laura Everett4

This is BAD. “None of these individuals did anything other than engage in protected First Amendment speech in a #church meeting room,” Mr. Riach wrote. “Yet now their personal information is memorialized in a D.H.S. dossier.”

Alex Janevski3

If you're complaining about "leftists" or "DSA" instead of "fascists", you are part of the problem, and history will remember you as that.

alec karakatsanis

@equalityalec.bsky.social

THREAD. As you read chilling stories emerging about the illegal surveillance that Trump's DHS has been doing, recognize that federal law makes it nearly impossible for victims to sue feds for constitutional violations. A minimum part of Democratic platform should call for this.

U.S. Investigated Left-Leaning Groups During Minnesota Immigration Crackdown

The government conducted expansive surveillance, infiltrated group chats and obtained financial records of organizations never accused of crimes.

852h ago

alec karakatsanis14

But it's also important to understand: why has there been a bipartisan consensus for decades to make it almost impossible for ordinary people to sue for violations of their constitutional rights by federal bureaucrats and agents?

Mimey1

The question I ask myself is: What do they say versus what do they fight for? Cuz in this case, they say they care about American workers, and yet they're fighting *against* American workers trying to better their situations harder than they are actually trying to do anything immigration-related.

Jesse Thorn

@jessethorn.bsky.social

My father once told me that during COINTELPRO he and his anti-war vet buddies would wave to the FBI guys who had an office across the street. Sometimes their calls would get disconnected and someone surveiling them would say “sorry Mr. Thorn. I’ll reconnect you.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/u...

608h ago

Mick Rhibusbach4

It doesn't make it any better or less disgusting, but being able to nod at your own personal government minder and say "Jerry, how's the family?" has got to be a unique life experience

Santa Erik Riese2

Would be funny if it wasn't so chilling.

Randi Weingarten 🖇️📚✊🇺🇸

@rweingarten.bsky.social

So let’s get this right- 2 protesters of the occupation are killed by ICE and the Feds do this!!! Investigate the protesters who were trying to stop the abuse of power. Investigate those trying to help their neighbors. What happened to the Constitution? www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/u...

293h ago

Barbara Kaskosz

@kaskosz.bsky.social

After Alex Pretti was fatally shot, the Trump administration did not investigate the Border Patrol agents who had killed Pretti. Instead, the DOJ opened a lawless investigation of several left-leaning political organizations that didn’t commit any crimes. This is fascism.

235h ago

29 U.S.C. § 157

@organizingpower.bsky.social

We need to abolish all of DHS—not just ICE www.huffpost.com/entry/minnes...

204h ago

Bob

@definitelyjustbob.bsky.social

“Prosecutors must follow the facts and the law wherever they lead, rather than select a target and work backwards to build a case.” - Harry Jacobs, former chief of the MN US Attorney's Office criminal justice section. I suspect we won't see much of that from Todd Blanche's DOJ.

169h ago

Matthew Tokson

@mtokson.bsky.social

The government is spying on activist groups and unions that opposed immigration crackdowns, reports the NYT. As the article notes, this is similar to what the FBI did under Hoover in the COINTELPRO days. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/u...

88h ago

Bill Shein

@billshein.bsky.social

Well, ain’t that a sentence. “[…] Homeland security officials used an array of invasive tactics to gather information on many groups and individuals who were never accused of crimes, crossing the line that has traditionally stood between investigating criminal activity and political dissent.”

43h ago

Will Jones

@willpjones.bsky.social

Every candidate for Gov and Congress in MN needs to be asked about this investigation and what they will do to protect the First Amendment rights of their constituents. @startribune.com @mprnews.org

68h ago

Democracy Defenders

@democracydefenders.work

"The investigation in some ways called to mind Cointelpro, the intrusive counterintelligence program that the F.B.I. ran against leftist groups from the 1950s to the 1970s under the leadership of the bureau’s director, J. Edgar Hoover." www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/u...

48h ago

SFDB

@sfdb.bsky.social

DHS agents investigated & conducted surveillance on Minnesota citizens, unions and political organizations who opposed immigration enforcement efforts in that state. "An investigation should begin with a legitimate basis to suspect criminal conduct, not with a chosen institution or group."

45h ago

JTMLX

@jtmlx.bsky.social

#GIFT_ARTICLE [IMPORTANT: WHAT FASCIST REGIMES DO] TRUMP REGIME INVESTIGATED PROGRESSIVE AND LIBERAL GROUPS DURING SUPPOSED IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT OCCUPATION OF MINNESOTA Lesson 3 of ON TYRANNY: Beware the One Party State By Alan Feuer and Ernesto Londoño www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/u...

38h ago

1 source

nytimes.comU.S. Investigated Left-Leaning Groups During Minnesota Immigration Crackdown (Gift Article)

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U.S. investigated left-leaning groups during Minnesota immigration crackdown

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