National Defense

Anarchist Speaking Tour Will Explore How Anti-ICE Rioters Defeated ‘Fascism’ In Minnesota

Wikimedia Commons/Public/Fibonacci Blue, CC BY 4.0

Leftists are planning a nationwide speaking tour to boast about how mass protests “thwarted” immigration agents in Minnesota.

Activists will travel to nearly two dozen U.S. cities beginning March 31 to share their experiences disrupting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in Minnesota, the anarchist group CrimethInc announced Monday. The event follows rowdy demonstrations that led to arrests and deadly scuffles with federal agents during Operation Metro Surge, a mass deportation effort that began in December and wound down in February.

“At each presentation, they will share what they have learned from building rapid response networks, explore how Minnesota thwarted Operation Metro Surge, and draw out lessons about how to defeat fascism,” CrimethInc said. The group describes itself as “a decentralized network” coordinating activism.

Anti-ICE activists use the term “rapid response” to describe groups trailing and recording immigration agents. CrimethInc posted content from an author in January describing how their rapid response group came from outside Minneapolis, joined a 1000-person group chat and woke up at 5 a.m. to follow ICE around town.

Rapid response efforts in Minnesota led to agents fatally shooting two protesters on Jan. 7 and 24, respectively, during confrontations. The Trump administration launched investigations into the agents’ conduct in both incidents.

Protesters also set up blockades to control neighborhood traffic and organized nighttime noise demonstrations at hotels where they thought agents were staying. One federal agent was seen bleeding after rioters ransacked a Minnesota hotel and smashed windows.

Rioters also broke into abandoned federal vehicles in January and stole records with personally identifying information, leading to doxxing, violent threats and harassment against at least 15 FBI agents, authorities said. A violent gang member also made off with FBI body armor and weaponry from the damaged vehicles during the chaos, according to officials.

Former Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino announced in March that he was retiring after leading Minnesota’s deportation blitz. Some leftist activists took his decision as a sign that their rioting was successful.

“Without a doubt, this is a result of the historic mass movement that swept Minnesota, culminating in last Friday’s general strike,” the Party for Socialism and Liberation said in response to Bovino’s announcement, referring to the Jan. 23 anti-ICE marches. “But we need to be clear — this fight isn’t about any one individual, it’s about ending mass deportations once and for all!”