DHS surveillance of Minneapolis progressive groups

Court documents filed Thursday revealed that the United States — United States Department of Homeland Security conducted a sweeping undercover surveillance operation, dubbed Operation Puppet Master, targeting progressive organizations, labor unions, and other groups protesting the immigration crackdown in United States — Minneapolis. The operation, along with a later one called Project Whipple Shield, involved infiltrating meetings in churches, schools, and parks, monitoring activist chat groups, and obtaining financial records of groups including the Sunrise Movement, AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union, and Communications Workers of America. The documents were released in connection with a motion by defense attorney Kevin Riach, who called the investigation 'broad and irrational' and driven by politics. The surveillance was part of a larger federal response to protests against the immigration enforcement operation that deployed about 3,000 federal officers to the United States — Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The government charged 15 people in June with impeding the crackdown, and United States — Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen characterized them as 'antifa.' The revelations drew criticism from union leaders and civil society groups, who said the government was weaponizing the legal process to intimidate lawful protesters.