Federal investigators have exposed some of the organized militant groups behind the violent clashes with federal immigration agents last winter in Minneapolis.
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed charges against 15 members and associates of the left-wing, anti-ICE group Direct Action Minnesota. Prosecutors allege they have ties to Antifa and other militant groups in Minneapolis that caused chaos and destruction during the George Floyd riots.
All 15 individuals are charged with conspiracy to impede or injure an officer. Prosecutors detail their involvement in organized resistance and escalated violence against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal law enforcement.
Homeland Security Investigations on Tuesday served two criminal search warrants and arrested 14 out of 15 rioters, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.
The DOJ announced the charges in an eight-count, 95-page indictment, accusing the 15 suspects of participating in a coordinated campaign to surveil, harass, and assault federal agents.
Prosecutors allege DAMN worked closely with other direct-action groups, Antifa affinity groups, rapid response networks and other militant groups to plan for and execute violent demonstrations and organized harassment of federal agents in the Twin Cities.
“The arrests of these rioters is a win for law and order,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “If you lay a hand on law enforcement, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Some defendants face additional charges including solicitation to commit a crime of violence, interstate threats, interstate stalking, destruction of government property, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the arrests demonstrate the Department’s “commitment to law and order and stopping organized political violence in Minneapolis and beyond.”
As outlined in the indictment, DAMN is an organization dedicated and committed to direct action against federal law and immigration enforcement.
The charges stem from an HSI investigation into how these individuals allegedly supplied and trained members as well as carried out their harassment and stalking efforts around the Twin Cities.
“As alleged, these defendants, which included members of Antifa groups, engaged in an unrelenting campaign of harassment and violence targeting federal and local law enforcement,” Blanche said. “Their actions created a dangerous environment that threatened not only their intended targets, but the community as a whole.”
DAMN is comprised of members from several sub-groups, such as the Black Cat Worker’s Collective, Ray Rainbolt Memorial Shooting Club, and other organizations, the DOJ said in a news release.
According to prosecutors, DAMN encourages direct action resistance, including disruptive and obstructive tactics to forcibly challenge, block, or stop immigration raids, detentions and deportations.
DAMN also trains its members in the use of shields against law enforcement, surveillance and rapid mass mobilization against ICE actions.
The DAMN group worked with rapid response networks (RRNs), which are “inherently militant” with the “explicit aim of combating and stopping a federal agent with a gun,” the DOJ said.
DAMN members organized and participated in direct actions against federal and local law enforcement on Jan. 23 and March 1, the indictment alleges. DAMN successfully shut down operations at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building during both direct actions.
Members of DAMN’s “hard blockade” team used vehicles, trailers, Czech hedgehogs (a static obstacle made of metal angle beams), and other items to obstruct the roads, the indictment alleges.
Members of the “soft blockade” team wielded homemade shields to physically resist law enforcement and to “wedge” or break through teams of officers on foot.
“DAMN infiltrated and exploited lawful protests to more efficiently carry out its direct actions targeting operations involving ICE as well as supporting federal and state law enforcement,” the DOJ said. “DAMN relied upon otherwise lawful protesters and ‘strength in numbers’ to distract law enforcement and enable DAMN members to carry out its direct-action operations.”
DAMN members hold meetings on a regular basis, but they collect cell phones prior to meetings to prevent recordings.
Investigators said DAMN members mostly communicate on Signal Messenger, which is an encrypted message application. They create different sub-groups on Signal based on their roles and responsibilities.
🚨🇺🇸 | Un miembro de Antifa de Minneapolis, Isaac Auman Sant, fue arrestado después de que se le acusó de conspiración violenta para atacar e impedir el paso de funcionarios federales en las ciudades. pic.twitter.com/I1U7ie1KLV
— La Derecha Diario Estados Unidos (@DerechaDiarioUS) June 17, 2026
Investigators gathered various evidence, including social media posts from the suspects and the Facebook page of the Black Cat Worker’s Collective, a Minneapolis-based Antifa affinity group. BCWC members advocate, promote and utilize militant tactics and violence.
The Black Cat Worker’s Collective Facebook cover page features an image of the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct in the background. The building was destroyed during the riots following the death of George Floyd.
The Ray Rainbolt Memorial Shooting Club is another Minneapolis-based Antifa affinity group dedicated to “community self-defense.”
On Feb. 5, Kyle Wagner was arrested in Minneapolis for doxxing a federal agent in the Eastern District of Michigan.
These are the 15 members of the Direct Action Minnesota (DAMN) Antifa cell who have been charged. Antifa accounts online are freaking out after their comrades were raided.
All the defendants used secret aliases.
Isaac Auman Sant — aka Isaac Datto, Ike
Emmett James Doyle — aka… pic.twitter.com/NRRyZklh0a— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) June 16, 2026
Wagner was wearing an “I’m Antifa!” sweatshirt when he was arrested. Investigators also found Antifa patches in Wagner’s residence as well as videos of him calling for violence posted to his social media.
The indictment alleges DAMN members engage in “commuting” tactics, which include identifying, following and confronting federal immigration enforcement.
On May 4, DAMN member Isaac Sant allegedly followed a federal immigration officer from the Whipple Building to Hudson, Wisconsin.
On May 18, another suspect, Natasha Rakotz, is accused of ramming her Honda Civic into a federal immigration officer’s government-issued vehicle.
Rakotz reportedly followed the federal immigration officer from the Whipple Building onto the highway. Rakotz “brake checked” the officer and “side swiped” the officer’s vehicle, causing a collision, the indictment alleges.
On April 8, DAMN members Callum Robinet, William Morgan, and others took part in the “Anarchist Speaking Tour” in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Robinet explained to the participants that, “So this is an anarchist speaking tour. We’re all anarchists.”
Morgan is also accused of kicking an agent’s government-issued vehicle, resulting in the dents, DHS said.
Antifa are rattled by the federal indictment against the Antifa cell in Minnesota responsible for organizing the mass violence we saw earlier this year. https://t.co/yTV7lbLidU pic.twitter.com/WNcsCseCrt
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) June 16, 2026
On April 18, DAMN members Isaac Sant, Cameron Kennedy, and William Morgan took part in the “Anarchist Speaking Tour” in Seattle, Washington.
Kennedy discussed DAMN’s direct-action efforts on Jan. 23 and March 1 at the Whipple Building, even showing images of their “shield wall” on a projector screen, the indictment alleges.
During Sant’s time at the microphone, he said “I am in an anarchist, revolutionary organization. It’s called Blackcat.” Sant discussed the logistics of “commuters,” who follow, harass, and confront federal immigration enforcement vehicles.
“We’re here from Minneapolis. We’re on tour to talk about our experiences resisting the ICE occupation,” Sant said at the event. “I think the Twin Cities real contributions to the field of revolutionary organization, of insurrectionary organization is these rapid response networks.”
The following defendants are named in the DAMN indictment:
- Isaac Auman Sant, also known as “Isaac Dalto” and “Ike,” is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer and interstate stalking.
- Emmett James Doyle, also known as “Plotnikov,” is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer.
- Cameron Kennedy, also known as “Cam,” “Olive Knite,” and “Knite,” is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer.
- Callum Robinet, also known as “Juliet K,” “Juliet,” and “Cal,” is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer.
- Erik Davis, also known as “Errico,” is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer.
- Brian Stillwell Apland, also known as “Tiny,” is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer.
- Kyle Wagner, also known as “Kaos,” is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, and interstate threats.
- Hannah Margaret Van De Water Davis, also known as “Gabriel Van De Water” and “Nube,” is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer.
- Treasure Cay Thoreson, also known as “Schatzi,” is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer.
- Nathan Junho Kim, also known as “Moon Bear,” is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer.
- Alec Stewart, also known as “Mac,” is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer.
- Douglas Misterek, also known as “Doug” and “D Munny Big Dog Orf Orf,” is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer.
- Dustin Scott Beisell, also known as “Sparky,” is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer.
- William Morgan, also known as “Willow” and “Willow Tree,” is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, interstate stalking, assault on a federal officer, and destruction of government property.
- Natasha Rakotz, also known as “Anuran,” is charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer and assault on a federal officer.
One of the 15 Minnesota far-left Antifa militants accused by federal prosecutors of being part of the Direct Action Minnesota (DAMN) Antifa cell that organized anti-government violence in the Twin Cities is now doing a media blitz after she was unmasked.
Natasha Rakotz, who used… pic.twitter.com/6M6WIHPXs5
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) June 17, 2026
