Federal agents secretly monitored progressive groups and protesters during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, according to court documents filed Thursday.
The surveillance, detailed in a 26-page motion filed in federal court in Minnesota, was part of two investigations dubbed “Operation Puppet Master” and “Project Whipple Shield,” which officials said were to track a ring of conspirators aiding “violent opportunists and agitators.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used undercover agents to attend meetings, monitor private group chats and gather information about people involved in the protests in Minnesota earlier this year.
The records were disclosed in a criminal case against 15 people charged in June with conspiring to interfere with federal officers during the protests.
“These agents surreptitiously recorded dozens of conversations with ordinary people who were simply exercising their First Amendment right to protest ICE’s lawless rampage in our state,” wrote defense attorney Kevin Riach, who represents Isaac Sant, one of the 15 defendants.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) launched “Operation Puppet Master” on Jan. 28, four days after the killing of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti by a federal officer, to investigate the alleged organized network of conspirators.
According to an HSI report quoted in the filing, the agency planned to place undercover agents inside groups that were flagged as posing a threat to federal officers.
Two weeks later, investigators opened a second effort, “Project Whipple Shield,” focused on identifying organized efforts to engage in violence and disrupt federal operations, and they obtained financial records for several national labor unions” and other groups with “zero criminal predicate to do so,” the filing reads.
Some undcover agents, who attended gatherings at churches, parks, libraries and schools, secretly recorded audio and video, according to investigative records described in the motion.
Riach asked the court to order prosecutors to turn over additional material, including undisclosed surveillance reports and data from phones and laptops used by agents, as well as internal communications about the two operations.
“These wild conspiracy allegations are born from the fantasies of political retribution that animate the Trump Administration,” he wrote, adding that the Trump administration routinely characterizes the political left with dehumanizing terminology.
“The administration has crystallized these sentiments into policies that encourage and authorize political prosecutions like this one.”
The Hill has reached out to the DHS for comment.